#this is what happens when we let James hang out with Slytherins he’s bound to pick up some sneaky lil habits

[nikolai-alexi]

Sirius: you absolutely cannot date my brother, James! No! Absolutely not! Literally anyone else!

James: …what about your cousin?

Sirius: sure, fine, whatever, just not my brother!

James: *with a shit eating grin* hey regulus go on a date with me? your brother said it’s fine

Regulus: wow never thought we’d get Sirius’ blessing, how sweet

Sirius: JAMES!!!

James: what?! You said I could date your cousin!! I just neglected to mention that said cousin was ALSO your brother

[aurorablue22]

Scarface - Young!Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary: Somebody decides to mess with Moony. 

(A/N): This can be interpreted as a platonic or romantic relationship between Remus and the reader, it hasn’t been specified! Also, as far as I know, I have created the names and characters of Michael Bershire and his crowd. 

Warnings: violence, blood, mention of scars, heavy swearing. If you are sensitive to these things, please do not continue below the “keep reading” line. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a typical Sunday night for Remus Lupin. As per usual, he had picked up prefect duties for this evening, and wandered throughout the corridors of the castle. 

Midnight was fast approaching, and Remus paused for a moment. Due to him being a werewolf, his senses were amplified, meaning that one of his abilities was superb hearing. 

Lupin cocked his head towards the dungeon staircase, where he heard a bit of commotion. He didn’t even have a moment to approach the noise before the cause was revealed. 

Michael Bershire and his Slytherin gang. 

Remus forced himself not to roll his eyes. Of course, they just had to be out while he was on prefect rounds. 

It seemed that the five lads didn’t notice Remus until he cleared his throat. They quickly snapped their heads in his direction.

“Lupin, ol’ chap! What’re you doing out so late? Haven’t you got a book to read?” Michael Bershire held his head up high, an annoyingly perfect grin plastered on his face. His gelled auburn hair reflected so strongly the candlelight in the halls. 

Remus had to refrain from rolling his eyes as Bershire took a few steps forward. “Gentlemen, it’s approaching midnight. I’ll have to ask you to return to your dormitories.”

“Oh and that we will do! It’s just, we’re a bit preoccupied at the moment. Isn’t that right, lads?” Bershire looked back at his companions, who nodded fervently. 

Remus was taller than Bershire, but because of his horrible posture, they seemed to be on the same level. He bit back a grimace when Bershire’s painfully minty breath stung his eyes. 

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we have business to attend to.” Bershire dramatically turned, his house robes swishing behind him. 

“Well then,” Remus says, “I’m afraid I’ll have to report you to your head of house, and I don’t believe you’d want that to happen. So if you don’t mind-”

And just as dramatically, the Slytherin boy whipped around again. 

“What was that, Scarface?” 

Before Remus could even form words, Bershire was stalking towards him. 

“How dare you speak to me in such an authoritative tone? After all, you’re... well you’ve got mud in your veins!” 

“And blood on his face.” one of the boys behind him added. Remus recognized him to be Adam Percival, the greasiest boy he knew. 

“You’re right Perce, he does have blood on his face. What, was ol’ Minnie upset you didn’t grade her papers for her? Or was it-”

“Shut it, Bershire.” Remus tried his best to compose himself, but couldn’t seem to look away from his shuffling feet. The full moon was only a few days ago, and he’d been left with a couple scrapes around his jaw and cheeks. 

Michael Bershire was baffled. That is, until he came up with another one of his clever ideas. 

“Boys, I’d say we teach Lupin a little lesson. After all, he should know - given his crowd - that snitches are frowned upon.” The 5 Slytherins slowly stalked towards Remus. “And you know what they say-”

“Snitches get stitches.” 

It was then that Remus was swiftly grabbed by two of the boys, and his arms were held behind him as Bershire swung at his stomach. Once they’d decided he’d had enough, Remus’ arms were dropped and his knees buckled under their forceful kicks. 

They pushed him onto the ground where they continued to harm him; kicking and hitting with all their might. It seemed like ages before they let up. 

Slowly, they backed away, but not before Michael could kneel before Remus’ shaking form. 

“Remember what I said, Lupin.”

And with that, he stood up and hurried away, while Remus was left alone in the dark corridor. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius’ head perked up as Remus entered the common room portrait hole. 

“Moony you’re back! Merlin we thought you got lost-”

“Where ya been, mate?” James cut him off. “We had to play three extra rounds of exploding snap waitin’ for you!”

Peter sat up from his position in front of the fireplace. “Alright Moony? You seem kinda quiet-”

“Good Godric Remus, you look awful!” Sirius shouted when Lupin faced them. 

“Yeah, and I feel just as great.” he said, taking a seat on the worn out couch. 

James came to sit on the armrest beside him. “What happened Moons?”

After Remus came to explain the series of events, the rest of the Marauders were fuming. 

“Oh I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him!” Sirius shouted as he kicked over a coffee table.

“Sirius please, not now!” Remus groaned, covering his ears. “All I want right now, is to go to my room, and get a good night’s rest. Alright? I’ll deal with this bullshit in the morning.” 

“Here, we’ll help you up.” James offered his arm, to which Remus took politely. Just as they were lifting the lycanthrope off the couch, they heard giggles coming from the staircase leading to the girls dormitories. 

“Who’s there?” Peter whisper shouted, receiving a “You bloody idiot!” and a slap from Sirius. 

“It’s just us!” Marlene whisper shouted back, as she, followed by you and Lily, entered the common room. 

“What the hell are you doing up?”

“Nice to see you too, Black.” Marlene raised an eyebrow. 

“If you really wanted to know, we were hungry, and figured the house elves might have some snacks for us. What’s your excuse?” Lily said, crossing her arms over her pajama top. 

“Remus just got back from prefect duties, figured we would-”

“Sweet Merlin Remus, what happened to you?” you suddenly exclaimed, making Peter jump. 

You rushed over to him, taking hold of his face, forcing him to look at you. 

“It’s nothing (Y/N), really. My transformation was a little rough, that’s all-”

“Remus, your transformation was three days ago. What the bloody hell is all this?!”

“Bershire beat him up.” James confessed. 

Remus turned to face Potter, shooting imaginary daggers at him. 

“She was bound to find out anyway! Besides, look what he’s bloody done!”

“Michael Bershire did this to you? That bastard-” 

Remus gently removed your hands from his face. “Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I really don’t want to deal with this right now. Can somebody please just help me to my room?” 

The boys swooped in and half carried Remus to their dormitories, while you and your girls quietly said goodnight. 

“Can you fucking believe that?!”

“Marlene, hush.”

“That fucking twat. Oh, I can’t wait to see what the boys have in store for him. I bet-”

“Marlene, please! Remus said he didn’t want to deal with this right now, so we’re dropping the subject. I say we go back to our rooms and get some rest.”

“But I’m hungry!”

“Swallow your spit. Now c’mon.” Lily ushered Marlene back up the stairs, before turning back and taking your hand. 

“You alright, (Y/N/N)?” she gave you a knowing look. 

“I’m with Marlene. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily was the earliest riser in your dorm. That being said, she took it upon herself to wake the rest of you up in the morning. You’d had a half decent sleep, and as you rubbed your eyes awake, you heard the playful banter of Marlene and Alice.

“Marls, get a move on!! You know what we said about those Hollywood showers!”

“It’s Americano, Ally!”

“I don’t give a damn what it is! Get out!”

You and Lily were ready before the rest of the girls, so you walked arm in arm down to the Great Hall. It wasn’t until the Marauders sat at your table you recalled everything that happened last night. 

“Alright (Y/N/N)? That vein in your forehead looks like its’ bout to burst.” Sirius said while grabbing a stack of pancakes. 

“Do you have an bloody clue what you’re going to do about this?! Remus, you can’t let Bershire off this easy.” you turned your head towards your favorite (and slightly bruised) lycanthrope. 

“I swear, I’m fine. And besides, the boys will work up something eventually.”

“Yea, eventually.” James exclaimed through forkfuls of food. “Moony made us promise to not even look at Bershire for a week!”

“A week?!”

James nodded enthusiastically, cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. 

“Since when do you defend bullies, Remus?!” you practically yelled, clenching the cutlery you were holding. 

“It’s not that (Y/N), it’s just-”

“It’s because he’s afraid of him.” Peter blurted out, making everyone’s heads turn. His hands shot over his mouth in realization. 

“Why is it the only time you open your mouth it’s to say something stupid?” Sirius said, hanging onto a glare. 

“You’re afraid of Michael Bershire?! Remus that’s not healthy! That’s- that’s horrible! Sweet Merlin Rem, I’ll show him what to be afraid of-” Remus cut you off.

“I’ve told you already, please don’t make me repeat myself again.” Remus placed his hand over yours. “The boys will handle this eventually. If you really love me, stay out of it.”

You settled down then, but still scanned the Hall for any signs of Remus’ attacker. The rest of breakfast carried on as usual, the rest of your friends joining you for the meal. 

Sirius walked you and Mary to class, giving you each a courteous bow. 

“Shall I pick you up after your lesson, my fair ladies?” he said in a deep bow, with a rigid posh accent. “The gentlemen and I were planning on.. err.. skipping our courses.” 

You giggled at Sirius’ poor attempt of finding a replacement word for “skip”.

“Yeah, why not. See ya then, Black!” Mary turned towards the door.

“I bid you farewell my lovelies!” he then proceeded to bound down the hallway to Astronomy, which was on the complete opposite side of the castle. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, passed fairly quickly. And just as he had promised, Sirius came to pick you up, now with James and Marlene in tow. 

Marlene beamed at the sight of you and Mary. 

“Thank Godric you’re here! I was getting tired of these two.”

James gave her a light shove. “We’ll be meeting Moony and Wormtail towards the east end.”

“Couldn’t convince Lily to come along?”

James looked like he was about to protest, but sighed in defeat. You and your friends continued down the corridor, eventually meeting Remus and Peter after their rigorous Astronomy note-taking. You soon found yourself squished between James and Remus, marching down the main hallway.

“Hey, I thought we were sticking to the east end?”

“Silly (Y/N), we were meeting in the east end.” Sirius explained, as if he were speaking to a child. “Now, we’re on our way to the west end.”

“Ah right, and it makes perfect sense to take the busiest corridor in the school.” Mary quipped, and Marlene giggled.

The walk was pleasant, and filled with greetings from fellow classmates. Every now and then, James and Sirius would snicker about something, or mutter jokes to the group. It was then, that you saw him.

Michael Bershire, proud and tall, lead his pack of nuisances opposite you down the bright hallway. Most students ducked out of the way to avoid him, and a few first years were visibly shaking at the sight of him.  

Your vision went red as you locked eyes on your target. It was time.

“James,” you slipped your bag off and passed it to your left, “mind holding this f’me?”

“Uh, yeah su- (Y/N)!!”

In the blink of an eye, you had left your friends’ sides and found yourself hurtling towards Bershire. Although you were smaller than him, the sheer impact of your collision with him knocked the two of you off your feet. You landed on top on him. 

He knocked his head off the stone floor, and for a moment you thought he’d lost consciousness. But the bewildered look in his eyes told you otherwise. It was now or never. 

“YOU BLOODY BASTARD!” you screamed, letting hell rain down on Michael Bershire. You swung left and right, pummeling his once perfectly sculpted face. You could feel the bruises forming on your knuckles already. “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH REMUS LUPIN?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU BLITHERING FUCK!”

Somehow, Bershire had managed to wrap his legs around your waist, pulling you towards him and flipping your bodies so that you were beneath him. He pinned your wrists beside your head, and you felt the concrete sting your hands. 

‘No, how dare you, you muddy little bitch?!”

And that’s what set you off. You produced a sound that could only be described as a battle cry, and flung your forehead up and into his. Distracted by the headbutt, Bershire’s tense core loosened the slightest bit. It was enough for you crunch up and bring your knees into his groin, causing him to cry out in pain. 

Using his own momentum against him, you successfully flipped around again, resuming your position above his quivering form. Your hands found themselves around his throat, and without realizing it, you were bashing his head in the ground. 

thunk, thunk, thunk.

It was only Professor McGonagall’s shrill cry of fear that brought you back to reality. 

“MISS (L/N), GET OFF OF THAT BOY!”

You felt strong hands wrap around your arms and shoulders, whipping around to see that it was the four Marauders pulling you away from Bershire. The Slytherin gang was dragging said boy’s writhing and groaning form onto a cot from the hospital wing. 

You only stopped your kicking and resistance when McGonagall approached you, pointing her finger in your face, looking more angry than you’d ever seen her. 

“My office. Now.” she spoke, in such a tone that visible shivers went down your spine. The boys had yet to let go of your arms, and half carried you down the hallway of gawking and goggling students. 

Once arriving to her office, McGonagall stood in the doorway. She looked expectant and impatient all wrapped into one. You were finally let go of, and slowly turned to the four boys behind you. 

James and Peter still looked a bit shocked, and you found little comfort in the proud look Sirius was trying to hide. But Remus’ face is what hurt you the most.

“Rem, I-” you croaked. He wouldn’t even look at you. “I’m so sorry, I don’t-”

McGonagall cleared her throat bitterly behind you, cutting you off. You whispered another, barely audible “I’m sorry”, before following the Professor into her office. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello my lovelies!! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Let me know if I should follow up with this fic! 

Also, a reminder that requests are open!! <3

~Aurora

[heyitssmiller]

Clandestine

It’s here! The Sweater Weather/Coast to Coast Spy AU has officially begun! Thanks to everyone who’s asked questions/thought of ideas/showed excitement for this!! As always, characters belong to the lovely @lumosinlove! And thank you, @donttouchmycarrots​ for proofreading this!

Here’s the Clandestine Masterlist

Chapter One

.

Remus Lupin was being followed.

He hadn’t been out in the field for years now, but some habits would always stick with him. Surreptitiously glancing over his shoulder as he walked down the street towards his flat, listening for falling footsteps or sudden noises, and – most importantly – trusting his gut.

He could feel eyes on the back of his head and knew from experience that he wasn’t just being paranoid.

He took a few seconds to think about it, then grabbed his phone, pretending to be oblivious, and called Potter before slipping his phone back into his pocket and keeping his steps even and casual. Sure enough, his follower tried to take advantage of his supposed slip in focus and grabbed his arm. But Remus knew it was coming and caught the assailant by the forearm, using their forward momentum to pin him to a nearby wall.

“Why are you following me?” Remus demanded, breath clouding in the cool night air before he recognized his attacker. Dark curls, dove-gray eyes, high cheekbones.

Sirius Black, a prominent member of the Snakes, the Slytherin mafia. Sirius Black, who was actively being hunted down by the intelligence agency Remus worked for.

Sirius Black, who wasn’t even trying to fight back or break free. For some unknown reason, he was in Gryffindor - where an entire intelligence agency was trying to take him and the organization he was a part of down - and yet he seemed completely calm. Nonchalant, even. As if this were just a walk in the park on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Remus narrowed his eyes at Black. “What’s going on?”

Black reached into Remus’ pocket, pulled out his phone, and ended the call to Potter. “Not here. Do you have somewhere quiet we can talk?”

Remus arched an eyebrow. “Yes, but I’ll need to call that guy back. If I don’t he’ll panic and he won’t hesitate to shoot on sight if he thinks I’m in trouble.”

That wasn’t necessarily true, but Black didn’t need to know that.

After quickly calling Potter back and explaining what was going on, he hung up and led the way back to his flat. He knew that was a better option that going back to Gryffindor Intelligence. If he felt like this put him in danger, he could move pretty easily. It’s not like he had many belongings to begin with. Uprooting the agency would be next to impossible.

“If people end up breaking into my house after this, I will hunt you down.”

“Yeah,” Black scoffed, kicking a rock farther down the sidewalk, then kicking it again when he caught up with it. “You’ve done a great job of that so far.”

“And yet you’re here for some reason. That can only mean two possible things.”

Black had to abandon the rock as they took the stairs up to Remus’ flat. “Oh? Do tell.”

“One, this is a crazy scheme to slowly kill off Gryffindor Intelligence one by one and, for whatever reason, you decided to start with me.” Remus fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his door. “Or two, which is more likely, you need our help. The only question I have left is why the great Sirius Black is stooping to ask us for help.”

He closed the door behind them and watched as Black took in his surroundings. It wasn’t much: a ratty old couch, a coffee table, warm brown-toned walls, and too many dying potted plants. 

He really needed to remember to water those.

“I ran away from the Snakes and I can help you take them down once and for all.”

Remus blinked at the suddenness of that statement. This… this could change everything. They might actually be able to take the Snakes down, after years of trying and failing. He had so many questions. What changed to make him want to leave? Why now? But none of those seemed to matter at that moment. There was only one question Remus needed to know the answer to immediately.

“What’s in it for you?”

Black shifted on his feet. “My brother…” He sighed, refusing to look at Remus. “He’s still there. And he’s innocent in all this – as innocent as he can be, in a situation like that. I need you to ensure that you can get him out safely before we take them down.”

“I’m sure something can be arranged.” Remus agreed. He knew of Regulus, of course. It was his job, after all. And he didn’t seem as innocent as his older brother was trying to paint him out to be. At the end of the day, though, it didn’t really matter. Letting Regulus go free, guilty or not, would be a small price to pay for taking down one of the biggest mafias in the country. “What’s your plan?”

For the first time Remus had ever seen, Black smiled. “It’s all in the flash drives.”

Remus called Pots and Moody over; this was too much for him to deal with on his own. James he trusted with everything - it didn’t even cross his mind not to call his friend. He was probably dying of curiosity after that phone call, anyways. Remus wouldn’t have been surprised if he was already on his way to Remus’ flat before he got the call. And Moody could sniff out a liar like no one Remus had ever seen. If Black was lying - about any of this - Moody would know.

James opened the door then, making a beeline for Remus and dragging him into the kitchen to talk to him in private. “Alright, Loops?”

“I’m fine.”

Pots relaxed, but only slightly. “So he just... showed up?”

“Tried to grab my arm on the way home.”

“So you brought him back to your flat? I mean, I know you voted for him as the most attractive in Criminal Choice Awards, but come on, Loops.” He said, referencing the game they’d played with the rest of Gryffindor Intelligence over New Year’s while outrageously drunk.

“First of all, we don’t talk about that game. That was a fiasco and should be considered top secret intel. Second of all, what else was I supposed to do? He said he could help us take down the Snakes. I couldn’t just let an opportunity like that pass us by.”

“Ok, fine.” James agreed reluctantly. “We’ll hear him out, but I can’t promise we’ll do anything else.” He then turned to walk back into the living room and glared at the stranger in the room. “Black.”

“Potter.” Black said with a taunting smile. “How’s the kid?”

“Don’t you dare – ”

Moody walked into his flat with his gun already drawn and aimed at Black. Remus sighed. “Is that really necessary?”

“You can never be too vigilant.” He mumbled, not taking his eyes off Black, who just grinned and sent Moody a sarcastic wave.

“If we’re going to get this done,” Remus interrupted, still clutching James’ arm in a firm grip to hold him back. “We need to work together. So stop antagonizing each other and let’s get to work. Black, you mentioned flash drives?”

Black nodded. “Riddle keeps all the information about the Snakes on seven separate flash drives. I could tell you some of the information, but there’s too many groups and people that I don’t have memorized. If you want to catch all the members and informants and organizations under the Snakes’ control, you need those flash drives. As soon as you try to take the Snakes down, they’ll all scatter and you’ll never find them again if you don’t already know who you’re looking for. Do you have coffee? It’s quite late and this is bound to be a long conversation.”

“I don’t drink coffee.” Remus lied, although he could tell Black saw right through him. “Keep talking.”

He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, leaning back on the couch to get more comfortable and staring up at the ceiling as he continued in a bored tone, “He keeps the drives in different locations. One he keeps with him at all times. One’s in a safe in his office, and two are with his most-trusted men – Bellatrix and my brother.”

“And yet your brother is innocent?” Remus asked skeptically.

Black glared at him, all sense of nonchalance gone. When he spoke, his voice was deadly. “He’s done more in terms of taking the Snakes down than you have. We’ve been trying to destroy them from the inside for years, but there’s only so much two people can do.”

Remus understood now why people were so afraid of him. That piercing gray gaze was chilling.

“Ok, fine. Where are the rest of the drives?”

Like a flip had been switched, Black reverted back to casual as if nothing had happened. “There’s three in separate safes across the city – one’s in the police station, and two are in safety deposit boxes in different banks. That’s seven.”

James met Remus’ gaze. “Winter? He’s the best at cracking safes.”

Black grimaced. “And there’s our biggest roadblock. The Snakes know who you are.”

“What?”

“All of your active agents, the ones who have tried to take the Snakes down previously, they have files on.”

Moody looked like he was about to have a stroke. Black shrugged. “Their informants are no joke.”

“So what do you expect us to do, if we’ll be recognized as soon as we step foot into the city?” Remus demanded, running a list of their agents through his head and eliminating nearly all of them one by one. 

“Surely you have some agents who haven’t gone up against the Snakes yet.”

Remus blinked. “You’re joking. This is your grand plan? That eliminates about ninety-five percent of our candidates. And those five percent left? Maybe two percent are trained and ready to go out into the field. This is a huge op - we can’t just send anyone.”

“You got a better idea?”

“Hang on,” James said, and Remus groaned. He could see that glint in his eyes. The glint that meant he had an idea brewing.

Nothing good ever came from that glint. 

“We can send O’Hara.”

“See? We already have a candidate!” Black cheered, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. Remus bristled. “Who’s O’Hara?”

“We recruited him right after he graduated from Harvard last year. He’s got a near perfect memory, and he’s really good with people. He normally does stake outs or reconnaissance and the occasional honeypot.”

“He’d be good for this,” Moody gruffly added. “He can charm the pants off of just about anybody. Makes it easy to get what you want.”

“I think Tremblay would be a good fit, too.” Remus chimed in, thinking it through. They’d work well together. Finn might drive Logan insane, but they’d get the job done. Hopefully. “Bring in some extra muscle just in case things get dicey, which they always do with the Snakes.”

“He hasn’t worked a Snakes mission before?” James asked.

Remus shook his head. “He’s been back and forth between here and Beauxbatons, remember? Since he’s fluent in French.”

“Can he crack open safes?” Black asked impatiently.

“No,” James said, but he was still smiling. “But we know someone who can.”

Remus thought about it for a second, then turned to gape at James when he figured it out. “James, you can’t be serious.”

“Why not? He’s a perfect fit! And the only other person besides Winter who can consistently crack a safe.”

“He’s a kid.”

“He’s not that much younger than O’Hara or Tremblay, and you’re fine with sending them.”

“He’s never even been out in the field before!”

“Winter says he’s almost as good as himself.”

“He’s inexperienced, and he’s going to get himself or one of the others killed.”

“Ok, so then what do you suggest?” James demanded, throwing up his arms in frustration. “Do you know anyone else who could do it?”

Remus stared at him at a loss, much to his chagrin. They’d never had to worry about this before - Winter did all their missions when they needed to break into something. They’d never needed anyone else before.

Now it seemed like their biggest operation to date would be in the hands of a rookie.

After a beat of silence, Moody spoke up. “I agree with Potter. He’s our only option, if the rest of our agents are compromised. We can talk to Winter in the morning, see if he’s ready for this.”

Remus sighed, but didn’t argue.

“I’m sorry,” Black said. “But who are we talking about?”

James grinned. “Nut.”

“That’s his name?”

“Oh my god.” Remus groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

***

Leo Knut (it’s pronounced newt, thank you very much) sat at his work station with twelve different locks in front of him, along with his pick, rake, and tension wrench. He took a deep, steadying breath and started his timer before instantly getting his hands on his first lock.

Insert tension wrench. Use the pick to find the binding pin and set it. Set the rest of the pins. Turn the tension wrench and…

The lock clicked open.

Leo quickly set it down and picked the next one up, repeating the same steps and singing along quietly to the song playing on his phone.

“All I want, all I want is you, your violet disposition, my unsound intuit – aaah!” He shouted when someone suddenly sat down on the bench next to him. “Fuck, Winter.”

Kasey raised an eyebrow. “You need to pay more attention to your surroundings when you’re on the job. Also, you’re tone deaf.”

“Thanks.” Leo muttered, reaching over to stop his timer and turn his music off. “Why are you here so early? Aren’t you usually asleep right now?”

“Yeah, but I got a call from Loops.”

Leo, always one to keep his hands busy, began messing with another lock. “You got another job?”

“No,” Kasey said, drawing out the vowel. “But you might.”

Leo laughed. “You’re kidding.” After a few seconds of silence, he looked back up again. Kasey’s face was dead serious. Leo set his lock and tools down. “You’re not kidding. What the hell? What’s the job?”

“You’d be going after the Snakes.”

Normally, Leo appreciated being direct and straightforward. 

This was not one of those times.

“As in the mafia? Those Snakes?”

“Yup.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yup.”

Leo knew of the Snakes, of course. And he knew that Gryffindor had been after them for years, which meant it was a big deal. So why were they putting him on the job and not Winter? He had experience in pickpocketing tourists in the streets of New Orleans and opening locks. He’d only started cracking safes under Winter’s instructions eight months ago. Why him?

“Is Loops insane? This would be my first job!”

“It was technically Pots’ idea.”

“Oh. Well, that makes a lot more sense.”

“Nut – ”

“That’s not my name – ”

“This is big for a first job.”

Leo fiddled with another lock, listening to the soothingly repetitive sound of pins setting. It was familiar, solid ground.

This, though, would be uncharted territory.

“I know.” He said anyways, trying to settle his nerves. 

“You think you’re ready for it?”

Leo looked down, collecting his thoughts before speaking. “I’ve got to prove myself somehow, right? What better way to do that than by taking down one of the biggest gangs in the country?”

Kasey laughed. “You’re crazy.”

“I’m from Louisiana – it’s in our blood.”

“Okay, you crazy Cajun. You’ve got your first debriefing at 10:30. Please don’t be late your first day on the job.”

“Who am I working with?” Leo asked, tilting his head. “I mean, I’ve got to have partners, right?”

Kasey just smiled. “Trust me, Nut. You’re going to love them.”

***

Logan and Loops were the only ones in the briefing room so far.

And it was awkward. 

Obviously Logan knew who he was – everyone knew his story – but they weren’t talking. The briefing room with the almost-hilariously large table was completely silent besides the occasional rustling of paper or the sound of the air conditioning turning on again. Logan couldn’t remember ever talking to the handler before. Maybe briefly, at that disastrous New Year’s party.

God, that party.

Logan steadfastly refused to think of the New Year’s party.

That is, until a familiar face walked through the door.

The redhead looked up, doe-eyes widening as he recognized Logan. “It’s you!”

Fuck, he was even more attractive now that Logan was sober.

Logan forcefully pushed aside hazy memories of laughing too loud at a story the redhead was telling, cuddled up on the couch with red solo cups in their hands and an almost-kiss as the clock struck midnight that Logan had wanted more than anything. He smiled faintly instead. “It’s you!”

The agent sat down excitedly next to Logan, eager eyes peering out at him from behind tortoiseshell glasses. “How’ve you been? Guess we’re partners now, huh?”

“Guess so.” He said faintly, the word fuck rattling around in his brain on an endless loop.

“I don’t think I caught your name at the party.”

“Oh. Logan. Logan Tremblay.”

“Finn O’Hara.” He replied, holding a hand out for Logan to shake. He then looked over to Loops. “We’ve still got a few more coming, right?”

He nodded reluctantly. “Unless one of you knows how to crack a safe, by any chance.”

Logan snorted, then shook his head. He wasn’t good at small, delicate things like that. Bashing heads in and upper cuts, though... “Nope.” He said simply, leaving it at that.

“Absolutely not.” Finn agreed.

Loops sighed. “That’s what I – ”

The door slowly opened to reveal a tall, blond boy with messy hair and cornflower blue eyes. He looked at the three of them, seeming a little nervous. “Uh, hey. I’m Leo – is this the right room?” He asked in a softly-accented voice.

“Yeah, come on in.” Loops said, which made Leo smile and –

Dimples.

Logan quickly shifted his focus back to Loops as he began to talk again. “Knut, meet O’Hara and Tremblay. They’re your partners for this mission. We have one more person coming before we can get started,” He glanced down at his watch. “But apparently he’s running late.”

“Oh, Lupin, you almost sound concerned.”

Logan’s head shot up at the voice. Sirius Black strode through the door, giving Loops a flirty wink before looking at the three of them. He grinned. “So which one if you is unfortunate enough to have the last name Nut?”

Leo sighed, while the other two fought to keep their laughter at bay. “It’s pronounced newt.”

“Not anymore. You can’t expect people to pass up a nickname like that, kid.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What? Nut or kid?”

“Both.”

Black just grinned again. “Not a chance.”

“Are you done harassing our operatives, Black?”

“Why? Are you feeling left out?”

Loops glared at him, but his cheeks turned slightly pink. “Why don’t you start debriefing them instead.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

“Buzzkill.” He muttered, but threw himself into one of the chairs. “You might want to write this down – I’m only saying it once and I don’t have any of it in files or anything.”

Logan couldn’t decide whether he should be impressed or repulsed by the lack of professionalism. He looked over at Nut, who was already waiting with a pen and notepad, clicking his pen repeatedly. Logan gritted his teeth and tried to tune out the noise. O’Hara was just sitting back in his chair, content to listen apparently. Logan settled for somewhere in the middle and grabbed one piece of paper and a pencil.

“Alright, here’s the deal. I’m sure you know who I am: Sirius Black, ex-member of the Snakes, blah blah blah. You get it. Well, I’m here to help you take the Snakes down. All the evidence we need of importing drugs, trafficking, laundering, bribery, blackmail – Christ, this list is long. You get the picture. Everything illegal they’ve done, the evidence is on seven flash drives. We need you to get all seven and get my brother out safely before we can officially take them down. Easy enough, right?”

“This is going to be a long op,” Loops cut in, making meaningful eye contact with the three of them. “I’m talking weeks to months here. We’ve got a lot of intel we still need, a lot of planning to do. And it’s not going to be easy. If you don’t feel like you’re up for the task, speak up now.”

Logan sent a surreptitious glance at his new partners. O’Hara looked excited at the prospect of a mission like this. Nut still looked nervous, but his eyes were determined, focused.

They all stayed silent.

“Perfect. Then let’s get started.”

[lupinlongbottom]

Practically a Weasley Epilogue

Charlie Weasley x Reader

Summary: Little Kayda has finally finished her seven years at Hogwarts, much to the cheer and delight of her parents, Charlie and (Y/N). Her future is crawling near, if only her parents knew what it could possibly hold.

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: None

A/N: This is mostly centered around Charlie and his girls, I will make that clear. The reader is there, and she’s important, but I wanted to highlight their daughters, as this is an Epilogue. I hope you all enjoy their three tornadoes angels as much as I do. Enjoy!

Part 1 … Part 1.5  …  Part 2 … Part 3

__

The end of the school year finally came, leaving many Hogwarts students to come home for the summer holiday. For some, this was their first year at the school for young witches and wizards, eager to share their stories with their families. For others, it was their final trip from the platform, until they choose to have kids of their own to see off. Regardless, the reunion of the various families on the platform at Kings Cross was a warm one.

“Dad…” Kayda moaned, trying to wriggle herself from Charlie’s grip. No luck.

“I haven’t seen you in forever!” Charlie exclaimed, hugging his daughter tighter. “Missed your birthday, two weeks ago! Consider it a late birthday present.”

“I’m eighteen now, I don’t need to be coddled at the platform,” Kayda sighed, patting her dad’s back. After finally wriggling herself free, Kayda nodded at her friends passing by, snickering at her father’s bear hug. “You can hug me more at home.”

“I plan on it,” Charlie beamed. Coming from the other end of the platform, (Y/N) walked between two redheaded girls, identical in their freckled face, both pushing their respective carts. “I see your mum found your sisters. Why didn’t you sit with them?”

“I sat with them at the beginning of the year,” Kayda shrugged. “I offered for them to sit in my compartment, but they said they had their own friends now,” she looked up, noting the presence of her sisters and mother. “Hey, mum.”

“Kayda,” (Y/N) said, tears glistening her eyes. “I know you probably don’t want a hug right now,” Kayda gave her dad a pointed look. Charlie smirked, shrugging. “But know that I’m so proud of you.”

“What about us?” the twin wearing a Slytherin scarf retorted, eyes turned downward, almost sad.

“Yeah, aren’t you proud of me and Harper?” the other added.

“Ellie…” Charlie sighed. “You know we’re proud of you two, but Kay just finished her schooling. It’s a big deal.”

“Well we just finished our first year. Big deal all around!” Ellie exclaimed, crossing her arms. “Besides, Kayda didn’t get to do hardly any of the fun stuff we did.”

“Like what? Going into each other’s common rooms? Wearing the other’s uniforms?” Kayda laughed, mirroring her sister’s stance. “I know you two switched. Often, at that.”

“You two did what?” (Y/N) asked, glaring at her twin daughters. “Harper? Ellie?”

“Come on mum,” Ellie laughed. “You really think that we wouldn’t try it? Harper’s in Slytherin, I’m in Gryffindor. It was bound to happen.”

“Ellie!” Harper hissed. “I thought we weren’t going to tell mum and dad!”

“Did you ever get caught?” Charlie asked.

“No,” Harper admitted. “Well, I guess Kayda knew, but she’s our sister, so…”

“Nice,” Charlie said, lifting his hand up, ready to give his daughters high-fives. (Y/N) grabbed his wrist, bringing it down.

“Charlie!” (Y/N) said, glaring at her husband. “I guess it’s not the end of the world. I should’ve known the two of you would’ve pulled something like that the second we heard you two weren’t in the same House.”

“I’m sorry, mum,” Harper said, her hands gripping her cart a bit tighter. “But on the bright side, I grew to like my House a bit better, even after everyone made fun of me being a Weasley!”

“Yeah?” (Y/N) smiled, noting the way her daughter’s blue eyes lit up. She had been worried about this very thing. Not every day a Weasley gets put into Slytherin House, is it? “How so?”

“Conrad has been hanging out with me in the common room and helping me study,” Harper said, smiling lightly. “He’s been keeping the bullies away too!”

“Conrad Lee? Barnaby’s son?” Charlie asked, crossing his arms. Harper nodded. “He’s a nice kid, coming from his parents it was bound to happen,” Charlie laughed, recalling the Magizoologist and his Curse-Breaker wife, close friends of his from his time at Hogwarts. “I figured he’d look out for you.”

“He only did that because Kayda asked him to do it,” Ellie said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t know how, seeing as they snog more than talk—”

“Ellie!” Kayda exclaimed, slapping her sister’s arm. Ellie winced for just a moment, fully prepared for the slap she received. “Shut it!”

“Don’t be embarrassed, Kay,” (Y/N) laughed, the panic on Kayda’s face not fading. “Conrad’s a nice boy. His mum and dad raised him well,” she smiled, patting her daughter’s back. “You’ve always got off well with him whenever they’d come to visit. Playing around in the dirt and whatnot.”

“Isn’t he a year younger than you?” Charlie asked, eyes pointed at Kayda, crossing his arms.

“Don’t you and mum have like five years between the two of you?” Kayda retorted, mirroring his pose.

“She has a point, Charlie,” (Y/N) laughed. “Enough of this idle chatting! We have a portkey to make if we want to get back to the cottage in time,” She pushed the twin’s backs, pushing their carts forward.

“You just don’t want to be stuck chatting with the entire family,” Ellie yawned, slowing her pace.

“I talked with Harry and Ginny, James just got done with his second year,” (Y/N) scoffed. “Your father caught up with Bill and Percy with their girls, too. We’re seeing Fred and George for dinner, we’ll be chatting with them then.”

“I don’t buy it.”

__

The warm glow of the kitchen radiated throughout the cottage. After Charlie and (Y/N) received the news of their, rather unexpected twins, the two moved to the Romanian countryside. It was farther off from the sanctuary, so Charlie had to either Apparate or take his broom, usually he chose the latter, enjoying the quiet moments of the morning rolling through the valley from up high, wind in his hair.

“Dad, should I take the pie out of the oven?” Harper asked, staring at the light brown crust intently.

“No,” Charlie hummed, pushing his sleeves up. He continued chopping the onions. “Shut the oven door, Harpy.”

“Sorry,” Harper said, gently shutting the door. Her fingers traced over the handle for a brief moment. “Do you need any help?”

“Blimey, I thought you’d never ask,” Charlie laughed, tilting his head at the aprons hung on the wall. “Grab your apron, kiddo.”

“Mum’s soup recipe?” Harper asked, tying the red apron around her waist, enjoying the feeling. She always liked helping her father out in the kitchen, ever since she was young. Molly often noted how her knife skills outshone those of her father, bringing much pride to the girl.“I can cut the carrots—”  

“No carrots,” Charlie said, sternly.

“Right, sorry dad,” Harper giggled. “I quite like the carrots in this soup though. Mum added them whenever you were out for work…”

“Well I’m here right now,” Charlie huffed, pushing the onions into the simmering pot on the stove. “You can chop the cabbage. Speaking of your mum, is she still helping your sister pack?”

“Yeah,” Harper nodded, eyes focused on her knife. She hadn’t had much practice at school, only using the skills in Potions class. “Why are you letting her move?”

“She’s an adult,” Charlie shrugged, stirring the burbling pot. “She said that she got a job and plans on moving this summer to start it. Still hasn’t told us the job… but she said she’ll tell us tonight.”

“Aren’t you going to miss her?”

“Of course I am,” Charlie said, washing his hands. “You, on the other hand, aren’t allowed to move out. Ever.”

“Dad!” Harper giggled. “I don’t want to move anyway. I missed the dragons terribly enough when I was at school.”

“The dragons missed you too. Well, I can only imagine. Can’t speak dragon. Harriet seemed rather glum, though,” Charlie clicked, drying his hands off with a towel. “Wait until third year,” Charlie mused, crossing his arms. “Care of Magical Creatures is going to blow your mind, kiddo.”

Charlie loved all of his daughters equally, so he said, but the connection he had with Harper was undeniable. While Kayda took much after her uncles—to Charlie’s dismay—and Ellie took after her mum—to an extent, the lip on that girl was unquestionably a Weasley trait—Harper took most after Charlie. She adored creatures, dragons especially. He would take her to the sanctuary whenever she asked, from a distance, per (Y/N)’s request. She was soft-spoken, hardly the one to lead her siblings, but her heart was bigger than her mouth.

“I can’t wait!”

“Can’t wait for what?” Ellie asked, throwing herself onto one of the kitchen chairs.

“To learn something I’m genuinely interested in,” Harper said, finishing her cabbage. She silently looked at Charlie, who nodded. “I mean, I like Charms and Potions, but I have a feeling Care of Magical Creatures is going to be a good one.”

“Well, I like Herbology—”

“You like Professor Longbottom’s face,” Harper snickered, pushing the cabbage into the pot.

“I never would’ve pegged you for the Herbology type, Eleanor,” Kayda smiled, walking into the kitchen. “Smells good, dad.”

“Shove it! Both of you!” Ellie exclaimed, her face growing pink. She tapped her nails against the counter. “I-I just think he’s a good teacher, that’s all.”

“He’s married you ninny,” Kayda said, flicking Ellie’s forehead. “Or did you not pay attention to the way he stares so sappily at the Potions Professor?”

“Wait, that’s his wife?” Ellie asked, rubbing her now red forehead. “They don’t have the same last name, though!”

“It’d be confusing to have two Professor Longbottom’s, wouldn’t it?” Kayda laughed. “She uses her maiden name for teaching at school. Her last name’s still Longbottom, though.”

“How do you know?” Ellie spat, voice dripping with venom.

“I took her N.E.W.Ts level class. Hardly a big class,” Kayda shrugged. “Always willing to chat with us, especially if we’ve done well in lesson. You never would’ve stood a chance, you’re nearly twelve.”

“I know,” Ellie huffed, the realization dawning upon her.

“Charlie,” (Y/N) said, stepping into the kitchen. “Oh, everyone’s here. It’s been a while since the kitchen was this full…”

“Flower, don’t start crying again,” Charlie said, wrapping his arms around his wife. “If you start crying, I’ll start crying.”

“You two are a bunch of saps,” Kayda laughed, noting her parent’s glistening eyes.

“Yet, you came from this bunch of saps,” Charlie laughed, kissing (Y/N)’s temple. “Think about that.”

“I try not to think too deeply about it,” Kayda said, rolling her eyes, fighting back a grin. She missed her parents, no matter how disgusting their lovey-dovey nature may be. “What time are Fred and George coming?”

“Any minute now,” (Y/N) said, glancing at the clock. “Fred said they’d Floo here by six—”

“Did someone say my name?” A voice bellowed from the living room.

Kayda’s eyes lit up, a grin spreading to her face. “Uncle Fred!”

“Hey there, partner,” Fred winked, pulling his niece into a side hug. “Hi (Y/N). Hi Charlie.”

“Glad to see you still don’t pick favorites,” Charlie smiled, nodding at his brother.

“We could never, Charlie. Just because we like our little Kay-Kay better than the two of you doesn’t mean we pick favorites,” George said, entering the conversation. “Honestly, you’d think our brother would know us better.”

“No, not at all,” (Y/N) laughed. “Where’s Angelina? Or the kids?”

“Get this,” Fred moved his voice to a small whisper. “Dragon pox, the both of them.”

“Fred’s lying,” George laughed. “Mine’s at his mum’s this week,” he shrugged.

“You’re right,” Fred sighed, taking off his bright orange jacket. “Angelina wanted to spend more time with our boy now that he’s home from his first year, much like Harper and Ellie. Nearly bit my head off when I told her I was coming here tonight instead.”

“They’ll all be sorely missed,” (Y/N) hummed, glancing at the large pot on the stove. “Though, had you two told me, I wouldn’t have made so much soup—”

“You didn’t make the soup, dad did!” Ellie pointed.

“And I helped!” Harper added, crossing her arms.

“You should’ve never had more kids, mum,” Kayda laughed. “Little snitches, the both of them.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying for years,” Fred agreed, placing his arm around Kayda’s shoulder. “One and done. Angelina and I listened to it. George had no choice, poor girl broke it off with him after their little one was born—”

“Honestly, Fred? Pipe down,” George said, growing annoyed. George never liked talking about his ex-girlfriend much. They had dated for a few years before she became pregnant, but they split a year after their son was born.

“Please,” (Y/N) scoffed, trying to diffuse the situation. “You two were beyond thrilled when you found out that Charlie and I were having twins!”

“We thought you’d name them after us!” George exclaimed, falling wistfully onto a dining chair. “But then you had more girls, what a waste of perfectly good names!”

“Technically they did,” Ellie said, groaning. “I’ve hated my middle name as long as I can remember.”

“I quite like mine…” Harper said, voice growing small.

“Your name isn’t ‘Eleanor Frederica’, Harper. All my friends have normal middle names, but no,” Ellie pointed at Charlie and (Y/N). “You had to make my life hard!”

“Ellie,” (Y/N) sighed. “Middle names aren’t the end of the world. Be happy you’re named after two of the coolest people on this planet.”

“Gross,” Ellie groaned again. “If you want to name me after someone cool, take a look at James! He has a cool name! James Sirius Potter, even the sound of it makes people sigh!”

“Ellie, we love your Aunt Gin,” Charlie said, glancing down, “but we’ve never been in real favor of their children’s names. A bit heavy handed, honestly.”

“When she told us the name of little Al, we nearly passed out,” George nodded. “Next year’s going to be a fun one for him, starting school with a namesake like that.”

“Having Frederica and Georgina is the least of your worries,” Fred laughed. “At least you,” he pointed at Ellie, “you got the better of the two.”

“I prefer Harper’s name,” George quipped, “sounds cooler, more hip.”

“Can we stop talking about my children’s names?” (Y/N) said, finally growing tired of the arguing. “Ellie, sweetheart, your name is fine. Fred, George, both of the twins names are equally sweet, be grateful that Charlie agreed with the idea.”

“It’s true,” Charlie hummed. “I wanted more dragon-related names…”

“I could’ve had a dragon name?!” Harper practically screamed, forcing her voice towards her parents. “Why does Kayda get one?”

“People don’t mispronounce your name,” Kayda retorted. “Never get ‘Kayla’ Weasley? Do you?”

“Oh my God,” (Y/N) groaned. “I wanted to have a normal family dinner, now my daughters are screaming bloody murder about their names—”

“Sounds like a normal Weasley dinner if I’ve ever seen one,” Charlie said, ignoring the bickering, the loudest coming from his three daughters. “Love, you knew full well what you got yourself into almost twenty years ago.”

“Hardly gave me a moment to think about it, didn’t you?” (Y/N) smiled, glancing up at her husband. “Pulled the rug out from beneath me that day.”

“Like you weren’t expecting it,” Charlie smirked. “I told you almost a year in that I wanted to marry you. Besides, you said yes.”

“I did. I don’t regret it,” (Y/N) sighed, glancing at her beautiful daughters, now arguing with their lively uncles. “How could I regret this?”

__

“The soup was great Charlie,” (Y/N) said, dabbing a napkin on her lip. “Harper, you did a great job helping.”

“Thanks, mum,” Harper smiled, feeling the pride well in her chest.

“Fred? George? You two have been awfully quiet,” Charlie said, noting his brother’s unlikely silence, “what’s up?”

“Well…”

“Actually…”

The twins looked to Kayda, who still had a spoon in her mouth. All of the Weasley’s eyes fell to her, watching as she fumbled with the silverware.

“Oh,” Kayda said, fumbling with her hands. “Do you think…?” She looked to her uncles, as if for permission. Fred nodded, George merely winking. “Well, I suppose,” she stood, seated at the foot of the table. “So, I’ve accepted a job—”

“We know,” Ellie sighed, twirling her spoon against the table. “You’ve only been talking about it the last month of school…”

“Eleanor,” Charlie hissed, eyeing his daughter. “Let your sister speak.

“Sorry,” Ellie lied. She hardly was sorry about anything.

“Anyway,” Kayda said, scowling at her younger sister for a moment. “So you know Zonko’s, in Hogsmeade? I’ve accepted a management position there—well, not at Zonko’s, I wouldn’t work there,” Kayda paused, flushing over her words. “I mean, I wouldn’t not work there, but I’ve been working at Fred and George’s place the last few summers and holiday breaks, a-and they’ve offered to buy out Zonko’s and—”

“Spit it out!” Ellie cut Kayda off again, growing more annoyed.

“Alright!” Kayda exclaimed, slamming her hands onto the table. “Fred and George are opening a branch of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes in Hogsmeade, in the old Zonko’s shop, and they’ve asked me to be the manager, want me to run it.”

“Kayda, that’s wonderful!” (Y/N) said, clasping her hands together. She looked to her brother in-laws. “You’ve always wanted to buy out Zonko’s, why now?”

“Well, we finally have our little prodigy out of school,” Fred looked to (Y/N). “Seeing as you lot wouldn’t let her drop out early, much like her successful uncles—”

“Who turned out to be quite the entrepreneurs despite it all…” George added.

“I wasn’t going to drop out, mum,” Kayda said, assuring her mother. “It seemed like a good time, me fresh out of school, ready to take it on.”

“So you’re running it on your own?” Charlie asked, eyeing his daughter down, a bit of hesitation in his voice. “All by yourself?”

“We’re going to let her do as much as she wants on her own, but we’re always a call away,” George said, fiddling with his spoon. “She’s already come up with at least a hundred and ten new ideas for products and marketing—”

“All based on what a student is really looking for outta jokes and tricks these days,” Fred said, cracking his knuckles. “Gotta keep the products young and hip as we can, what better way than insight and perspective from a more recent former student? Considering the market is loads of Hogwarts students on their weekends off?”

“I suppose…” Charlie mumbled, looking in his hands. “Are you going to be living on your own?”

“Dad, I’m eighteen, I think I can manage on my own, especially in Hogsmeade. I found a little apartment to lease, it’s near the shop.”

“I’m sure Conrad’s going to be moving in after next year anyway…” Harper mumbled from her mother’s side, glancing at her half-full bowl of soup. She didn’t exactly have the appetite for it, all things considered.

“He’s thinking about it,” Kayda added. “We’ve talked about it.”

“Nope,” Charlie stood up from the table, pushing his chair back. “Nope, not happening. Absolutely not.”

“Charlie…” (Y/N) sighed, pressing her hand against her husband’s forearm, her fingers tracing a recent burn.

“Nope, not happening until I sit down with the Lee’s,” Charlie said, pacing lightly. “Maybe take Conrad down to the sanctuary…”

“Dad!” Kayda cried. “My boyfriend doesn’t need an interrogation!”

“Boyfriend?!”

“This is getting good,” Fred said, leaning into his brother’s good ear.

“Way better than what mum used to spout, Charlie’s a spittin’ image of her I reckon,” George added, leaning back in his chair, noting how red Charlie’s face was turning. The father and daughter continued to shout, much to (Y/N)’s dismay. Her head was in her hands, sighing loudly.

“See, mum? This is what happens when you let your daughter run wild with a Slytherin,” Ellie said, reaching over the long table to gain her mother’s attention. “Dad’s gone mental.”

“I’m a Slytherin!” Harper added, her cheeks growing pink. “What does that say about me?”

“You know I love you, Harper,” Ellie sighed, looking at her twin. “But Slytherin stinks. Your common room isn’t even all that neat, green is such a boring color and your Quidditch team sucks. Besides, a Weasley in Slytherin? How absurd! Half the Great Hall nearly lost their lunch at the sight!”

“Hey!”

It wasn’t long before the entire table was up in a roaring thunder, the youngest Weasley twins were bickering—like always— Kayda and Charlie were near a dueling stance over some boy, and the eldest twins just sat back and laughed at the continued horror. (Y/N) sat idly by, truly ignorant to her wishes of a functioning family unit. How long had she waited for a moment like this? Her family back together? Surely she didn’t expect her eldest and her husband going almost as far as a duel, she also didn’t expect her youngest daring to speak the few swears she picked up at school, either.

But, deep down, (Y/N) knew this was her ideal life, the one she had dreamed of years ago. A hearty family, filled with enough personality to go around thrice the time as normal. Her daughters were intelligent, bright and full of spunk, her in-laws were closer to her than blood would allow and her husband… Godric, her husband was more than she could’ve dreamed, attentive, loving and protective of their family—even if it was a sore subject in the moment, considering the environment. (Y/N) knew that the dream life she had planned was far from her reality, but she wouldn’t change it for the world. After all,

She was a Weasley.

__

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Charlie Weasley Tag List: @sungoddessra / @crescent-ia / @phantom-pheonix/ @dccomicnerd-world / @marveltrash99 / @graymountaingal / @carolinesbookworld / @mytinybaguette / @garbdump / @utahjoerdis / @eldritchscreech / @fiiiinewine

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[paradox-psyc-hoe-sis]

Remus Lupin dating a hufflepuff would include...

Remus lupin x hufflepuff!reader, the marauders x platonic reader

Word count: 2.2k

Warnings: no smut but talk of sexy times (sfw)

A/N: I'm back, babey! Recently took a smol hiatus but I'm back and better than ever. Here are some headcanons of what life would be like dating young Remus Lupin as a hufflepuff; I might do something similar with the different houses and the other marauders, but idk yet. As per usual, if you want a request then by all means shoot me a message! I write for the umbrella academy, marvel and Harry Potter so feel free to request anything :)) - Aphrodite

(Also I'm sorry I didn't spell check this, please forgive me)

• Every moment between you two was adorable!

• Being the semi-traditionalists that you were, it was a mutual agreement to take things slow and steady. But Remus was so infatuated with you - and you with him - that neither could deny the ever growing spark you shared.

• He'd always invite you on study dates in the library every Saturday, but most of the time it was just an excuse to see more of you.

• You'd always bring along a snack from the kitchens to the library, a different pastry or bake every week.

• "Guess who brought muffins!!!"

• When you aren't looking, he likes to leave cute messages on post it notes and hide them in your bag or throughout your books.

• "The only thing sweeter than those muffins is you, my love"

• You totally know when he does it, you've caught him a few times.

• However, you like to return the favour.

• "Maybe next time we 'study', you can let me Slytherin to your arms for cuddles"

• He loves the puns you make. Despite always being followed by an eye roll, he really does love them.

• He keeps all his notes from you in his bedside table and will read them after a particularly rough full moon 🥺

• Obviously, Remus was terrified to tell you his secret, but it went less dramatically than he thought it would.

• When you acted so truly selfless and reassured him that you'd be there for him no matter what, it really made him tear up. You promised to always be there after every full moon.

• You two can always be found cuddling in the gryffindor dormitories, 24/7.

• When you have a free period or a day free from studying, Remus will sneak you past the common room and into the dorms, where you'll just lay in his bed. All day.

• He's definitely the big spoon, he loves to hold you as tight as he can. But sometimes you'll lay your head on his chest, facing the ceiling, and he'll run his fingers through your hair.

• The boy is a human radiator, so you could practically hug him and his warmth all day long.

• One time you slept over with the rest of the marauders, and upon waking up, realised you had started your period. On Remus's sheets.

• "Hey, it's alright. I know this stuff happens, let's get you cleaned up."

• He was so mature about it all that you probably fell in love there and then.

• While you had a shower and changed the sheets, he went to Hogsmeade with James to get you some pads and snacks.

• Not needing a heating pad because he's just so damn warm gosh darn it

• While you and Remus were growing closer, you had an unexpected friendship with Sirius.

• I say unexpected, as when you first met you were positive he'd be trouble.

• "Moony, you never told me you were dating a hufflepuff! What a cute little cupcake she is." (Delivered with a wink)

• Let's just say, you may or may not have threatened to "shave off your pretty little locks if you call me a cupcake again."

• Although, this rivalry soon turned into friendship when you realised your senses of humour were identical.

• When Remus is busy and can't hang out with you, Sirius will take you to hogsmeade or play a game of chess to pass the time.

• Funnily enough, Sirius became oddly protective of you, letting Remus know that if he ever hurt you he'd be dead.

• Remus was always calling you a cute name, despite the circumstance.

• His favourite things to call you were babe, sweetheart, love, and snickerdoodle.

• You just stuck with calling him Remy, Moony, or honey (he'd never admit it, but he loves when you call him 'honeybuns')

• Remus is smart, and so are you. But when you're together, you share half a braincell.

• He's literally such a dumbass.

• "Babe, do you think toads can sense fear?"

• Cue you looking into the camera like Jim in the office.

• Whenever somebody tries to make any comments about Remus being a werewolf you are the first person to defend him.

• Nobody was afraid of you lashing out because you're "just a harmless hufflepuff". Their opinions changed when you punched a Slytherin prefect in the face for calling Remus a monster.

• At night, you'll both sneak out of the common rooms and meet in the kitchens for midnight snacks.

• You making some tea, and him eating some chocolate while talking to the house elves.

• You were always the best in your year at herbology, Remus however didn't stand a chance. He wasn't terrible at it, but certainly needed your help during lessons.

• "Y/n...what in God's name is that!?"

"...babe that's a celery."

• The summer between fourth and fifth year, he had the worlds biggest growth spurt.

• He was a little bit taller than you before, but when you returned to school for fifth year, he towered over you like a half-giant.

• This means that you could steal his fuzzy jumpers with them falling down to your knees.

• Sleepovers at the gryffindor dorms were a common occasion, but sometimes Remus would come to your common room late at night to have a dance party.

• Quietly playing the mixtape he made for you while you both danced around the area.

• You both had your first kiss towards the middle of fifth year, almost a year and a half after you first started dating.

• Remus came top of the class on an important DADA test. When he told you, you instinctively kissed him.

• You pulled away almost straight after, apologising for not asking for consent. Before you could say another word, he pulled you closer to him and placed another kiss on your lips, running a hand through the back of you hair.

• When you broke apart, you rested your forehead in the crook of his neck as he whispered in your ear.

• "I love you, y/n."

"I love you more, Remus."

• He wasn't really a big fan of PDA, but would happily do whatever you wanted.

• When the marauders were planning a prank, Remus made sure you were as far away from the action as possible.

• "What if we get y/n to be the bait? She could get-"

"James, there is no way y/n is going to jump into the great lake with weights ties to her ankles."

• You both did it for the first time near Christmas of sixth year.

• Peter was long gone home. James and Sirius had both left that morning to go back to the Potter's, offering you both a place to stay for the holidays. However, you were both happy to get some alone time.

• In the evening, he lit candles in the dorm and did cute stuff like that.

• He was so so nervous, but was still a gentlemen through and through, always asking if you're comfortable and making sure what he's doing is okay.

• It was really sweet, and both of you were really happy afterwards.

• Sometimes you'd share a bath with him in the prefects bathroom. The rest of the marauders always joked about how there'd be a bit more than bathing involved, but they were wrong.

• When you would share a bath, Remus would bring a book and read to you, doing silly voices for each of the characters just to see you smile. Neither of you ever did the Devil's Tango in the prefects bath, as it was always just for a nice relax.

• Speaking of books, Remus was always reading one. Sometimes you'd cuddle up next to him while he read, and he'd quietly read each line.

• Sometimes you'd do the same, reciting small poems from muggle books.

• He never told you, but after you had your first kiss his boggart changed. It changed from the moon to himself as a werewolf, holding your dead body.

• Gruesome, he knew, but it was significant to him.

• Along with his boggart changing, your patronus changed. In your third year you learned how to conjure a patronus, and yours was a porcupine. Yet in your sixth year, you discovered it to be a werewolf.

• Remus full on cried happy tears when he found out.

• After the worst full moon yet, Remus ended up in the hospital wing for 5 days. He was found unconscious, and woke up 2 days later to see you and Madam Pomfrey by his side.

• You took notes for him in class, brought him a few new books and bars of chocolate, and spent every free moment in the hospital wing with him.

• He had three long slashes across his face when you found him in the shrieking shack, yet he looked so calmly asleep.

• "When you told me you wanted to start having lie-ins, I didn't think you'd sleep for two days straight."

• You were the first person he wanted to see after such a terrible night, and despite your jokes, he was so grateful to have you next to him.

• "I hope you're not going to break up with me now that I'm ugly."

"You? Ugly? How could you ever think such a thing?"

• On valentines day, he enlisted the help of the marauders to make things perfect.

• After a date at Madam Puddifoots, you returned to Remus's dorm to a beautiful view.

• Fairy lights were strung along the bed frames, rose petals in a trail along the floor, your favourite scented candles burning on the bedside tables, and a teddy bear bigger than your entire body sat on Remus's bed.

• Turning around to face your boyfriend, you saw that he held 3 boxes wrapped in red paper.

• "Happy valentines day, m'love"

• Placing the gifts on the bed closest to him, he picked you up and wrapped you in a bear hug.

• You crocheted him a jumper in his house colours and got him a leather bound copy of his favourite book.

• He made you a bar of chocolate with your favourite flavours, bought you a chunky cardigan that he knew you wanted, and placed a painted, small wooden box in your hands.

• "Open the box, love." He stated with a smile. He seemed a little nervous, but eased up as he saw you smile.

• Inside the box was two aeroplane tickets to Paris.

• "It's not much, but I was wondering if you'd come with me this summer?"

• This was followed by a lot of happy screams, to say the least.

• When quidditch season came around, you both loved to support the other's house.

• You'd sport Remus's red and yellow jumpers when gryffindor was playing, and he would go all out with yellow and black spirit when it was a hufflepuff match.

• However, when it was hufflepuff against gryffindor things got way too competitive.

• You didn't speak to Remus for a week after gryffindor won.

• "Come on babe, just talk to me! I didn't mean it when I said that hufflepuffs are as good at quidditch as they are at their owls!"

• Professor Mcgonagall didn't really know much about you, being from a different house and all, but she saw how much Remus changed being with you.

• He seemed really well taken care of, and for once he was unconditionally happy.

• After dinner one night, Mcgonagall asked to see you in her office.

• "I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of Mr Lupin. It may be unprofessional for me to see him as a son, but I do, and I'm grateful that he has someone like you to support him."

• From that moment forward, she saw you as a daughter, and invited you to have tea with her every week.

• You didn't know it, but every full moon she'd add 50 points to hufflepuff, she could never thank you enough for looking after Remus.

• After you both graduated, you almost immediately moved in with each other.

• With the help of James and Lily, you bought a small cottage a few hours away from hogwarts.

• Every other wednesday, Sirius and Lily come around for a girls night while Remus and James catch up.

• A few months after you moved in together, Remus realised what he wanted, and for once he wasn't afraid to ask for it.

• It was a beautiful Saturday evening, the sky was purple from the sunset. Both of you were sat on the porch swing in your back garden, surrounded by magical plants and flowers, when he got down on one knee.

• "Y/n y/l/n, I've loved you since the day we met. I couldn't wish for anyone better than you, and it would be my dream to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

[rainandhotchocolate]

Tension - Part 11

HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1!!! TO celebrate going back to Hogwarts, and my brain being awake enough to write, I wrote ya’ll some angst/tension hehe anyways hope you’re all ok and enjoy!Part 11

Moonlight was streaming in from the windows, shining a vaguely uncomfortable light into Y/N’s eyes as she lay, semi hidden, on the Slytherin Common room couch. She was fidgeting, staring up at the clock to see if any more time had passed since she last stared at it moments ago. 9:59 pm - 10:00 pm. Y/N heaved herself off the couch, edging along the wall hoping no one still reading by the fire would notice her slip out quietly.

She flicked her wand to cast a disillusionment charm over her, praying it would work but still keeping herself hidden in the shadows and doing her best to squint through the darkness and towards the small passageway that led towards the Herbology greenhouses. The air was cool but not as sharp as it had been on the return from Christmas holidays, and the snow had almost completely melted on the grounds. 

She stretched her back, having hunched it most of the way there, and began walking towards the whomping willow. The grass crunched under her feet loudly but she didn’t bother covering it, edging as close as she could to the large moving tree before it would notice her there. 

Glancing quickly around her she whispered ‘wingardium leviosa’ and guided a large stone towards the base of the tree, letting it land hard on a root on the base. The tree froze, unmoving in the wind. Y/N ran towards the opposite side first, placing her wand with a stash of clothes and bandages they kept nearby. Then Y/N slipped forwards and slid into the hole, down into the base of the entrance to the Shrieking Shack. 

There was no noise tonight and it put Y/N on edge, transforming quickly into her animagus form so Remus would only smell her as an animal and friend, not prey. She kept to the edges of the cave entrance, creeping forwards so she could listen for any noise. Still nothing. Heart beginning to pound, she took the remaining few steps at a bound until she reached the entrance to the main rickety room of the Shrieking Shack. Remus sat very still, staring where Y/N prowled cautiously towards him. 

She growled, low and soft, submissive, and kept moving towards him, only realising too late that he wasn’t staring at her. He was staring behind her. In a heartbeat, she turned to the entrance and heard a thump as someone entered the cave-like entrance. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck. 

Y/N growled again, louder this time, trying to break Remus’s focus on the hole leading back towards the school. She could smell the person now, thick and musty against the fresh dirt and mud the shack normally smells like. Remus ignored her, crouching on his back hind legs and moving closer. 

NO! Y/N barked loudly and moved to stand in front of the entrance, backing towards it. Without thinking, she transformed back into human and sprinted back down the cave wall to a dark figure standing behind a large boulder. 

“GET OUT,” she bellowed, “NOW.”

As if backing up her scream, Remus began to howl behind her, his head almost completely at the cave entrance. The person didn’t need telling twice, turning and tripping over some roots and swearing before pulling themselves up and out where they came from. Y/N turned back to see Remus staring at her, eyes red and wild. She turned and ran, transforming into a dog and bounding out of the entrance and up to the whomping willow which was swinging wildly around her. Then something hit her, hard, in the side, flinging her to the edge of the tree’s reach and cutting deep into her stomach.

The pain was blinding, her eyes watering and beginning to shake as she felt the blood on her fur. It took her a few attempts to get up, stumbling forwards as more tree branches slammed towards her, the edges cutting into her legs. Once she was out of range, she turned to look back at the entrance to the Shrieking Shack and could have groaned or cried as she saw Remus’s claws digging out at the dirt. He would be out and onto the grounds in minutes. 

She transformed back into herself, crying out as the pain got worse, no longer protected by her animal adrenaline and attempted to run towards her stash of gear hidden near the willow. She grabbed her wand and began moving away from the willow before she heard a low growl coming from behind her. 

Y/N sucked in a breath and willed her body to contort once more, just one more time into that of a dog, pulling herself up onto all fours. Remus’s eyes were fixated on her, no longer himself but pure wolf. He edged towards her and she edged back, huffing loudly. They stared at each other for what could have been minutes or hours before he launched himself at her.

Two things happened very quickly. Remus’s body bounded for her, a swift leap in the air that would land on top of her if she didn’t push her body to run towards him instead. A flash of light blinded her peripheral vision as she moved and she ran head first into something that fell backwards as she hit it. A yelp from in front of her made her think it must be a human, alongside the lack of noise from Remus. 

Y/N fell to the side of whomever she hit, her eyesight coming back and allowing her to see James and Sirius hovering over her. Sirius was next to her, still on his knees from her slamming herself into him, James on his feet and pointing his wand out to where she presumed Remus was now lying unconscious. She felt her throat tighten painfully. She never wanted to do that to him. Treat him like a rabid animal. It was a few moments before she realised her shaking body had become human again and the cold was seeping into her bare skin.

“I . . . clothes . . .” she pointed towards the rucksack she’d pulled out from a bush to get her wand and saw James run towards it whilst Sirius had already stripped off his jumper and was pulling it awkwardly over her, looking up at her face intently instead of the curled up naked body. 

James had grabbed a large coat and wrapped it around her from behind, covering her completely. Sirius bundled her up and lifted her gently but Y/N pushed against him. 

“Remus nee-ds.” she stumbled on her words, cursing her fragile, shaking self. Remus needed help, he needed someone to make sure he was ok, that he got back into the shack and stayed there. “Shack . . . put him b-ack.”

“James is already on it.” Sirius held tight to her even as she tried to pry away from him, “And this will go a lot easier if you stopped bloody hitting me.”

Y/N abated but kept trying to glance back at James and Remus to see what he was doing, but could only see the faint edges of her vision begin to shake and the dark green of the trees as Sirius began running back up to the castle. 

There were moments where she wasn’t sure if Sirius was talking to her or to himself, swearing under his breath but she didn’t reply until she saw the direction he was moving. 

“NO, no hospital wing,” She gasped. “They can’t . . . know, I . . . was with Remus.”

Sirius huffed loudly but turned on the spot and began taking the stairs to their left two at a time. 

The next thing Y/N remembered she was on a cool, stiff mattress, light beginning to stream into the window beside her. She blinked a few times, unsure where she was, and jumped as she suddenly felt someone’s hands on her side. 

“Fuck.” Y/N groaned, the pain in her side creeping back to her as she jerked it away from the person beside her. 

“She’s awake!” Sirius called from her other side and Y/N turned to see him sitting on the edge of the bed. A red covered bed. Y/N felt her cheeks flush as she realised where she was. As if noticing her slight panic, Sirius continued. 

“You were pretty adamant about no Pomfrey last night, so I took you to the second best healer around.” He nodded to the person who had touched her and she saw Peter giving her an awkward smile. 

“Sorry for freaking you out there, I thought you were still unconscious.” 

“I was unconscious?”

“For a few hours now,” Sirius replied. 

“Where’s James and Remus? Is he ok?” 

“They are both fine, James sent a note up to the tower but he did tell me that he managed to knock Remus out and fix the giant bloody hole he dug. I think he’s staying down there until the sun comes up. I guess he should be back soonish.”

Y/N’s mind was reeling as she remembered the events of the night before, and-

“Did you see anyone else on the way down?” Y/N stared at Sirius intently, her heart beginning to race again. Someone had been down there. Someone had followed her, had known how to get into the Whomping Willow. How could she have been so careless? 

Sirius looked at her with an expression she couldn’t interpret. She met his gaze but he ducked his head, looking over at Peter. 

“Can I continue patching you up?” Peter interrupted. “You’re beginning to bleed again, I think you need to rest a bit more.”

Y/N hesitated but agreed when attempting to sit up further and feeling like her side was tearing apart all over again. Peter and Sirius muttered to each other momentarily, pulling things out of their trunks and bags whilst Y/N watched the door closely. 

“Hey Y/N?” Peter called again, looking a little awkward. “We uh-”

“Need you to change.” Sirius finished for him, giving her an apologetic smile. Y/N looked down at her the jumper and coat she was still wearing, realising she was pretty bare under the covers they had thankfully covered her in. 

“Oh, right. Do you have my clothes?” 

“Uh . . .” Sirius grimaced, holding up her rucksack. “I think Remus might have cut into it at some point.”

The bag was almost torn in two, bits of cotton and parchment hanging out of the edges. Y/N stared at it, heart pumping hard again. 

“Right.” She repeated dumbly. 

“We have some stuff you can borrow - and I can ask Lily or Alice for some uh undergarments and stuff.”

“Wouldn’t they get suspicious?” 

“We will come up with something,” Sirius waved her off, standing up from the bed. “I’ll be back in a few.” 

He moved quickly towards the door and shut it quietly, slipping downstairs. 

“Does it still hurt?” Peter crooked his head to one side, looking up at her. 

“I-” Y/N started, but sighed. “Yeah, a fuckton.”

Peter laughed, grabbing out a bottle of something bright blue and a large spoon, pouring some of the liquid into the spoon. 

“I tried to give you some of this earlier but you were having none of it.” Peter held it out to her mouth, “I promise it will help with the pain.” 

Y/N nodded, opening her mouth and taking a large gulp. It tasted sickly sweet but went down easy enough, and within minutes she could feel a wave of calm wash down her body and ease the throbbing pain in her side. In her haze she saw Sirius return with a tall redhead who told the boys to ‘fuck off please’ and lifted her out of the bed and towards the bathroom. 

“Lily,” Y/N mumbled once she had sat Y/N down on the toilet seat and helped her begin putting on some underwear and taking off the jumper that was now stuck to her skin. 

“Yes, are you ok? Do you need anything?” Lily’s deep green eyes stared straight into Y/N’s and she shook her head. 

“No, just . . . thanks.”

“Of course.”

Dressed in a pair of Lily’s pants and an oversized jumper she presumed was Sirius’s from the smokey smell, Y/N let Lily guide her back into the main room. 

“Can I dress the wound now?” Peter asked Lily, looking genuinely concerned. 

“I think you might need to clean it again, that jumper was clinging pretty tightly to it.” Lily threw the jumper and cloak back to Sirius who made a face as it hit him in the chest. 

Y/N lay back down on the bed and watched as Peter lifted the edge of her jumper up to start cleaning it again. 

“How does it look?” Y/N asked the three of them who were now staring intently at her side. 

“Not great.”

“It’s fine.” Lily said, hitting Sirius. “She doesn’t need to hear that.”

“Oh she’d rather know the truth- right Y/N?”

“He’s annoyingly correct.” Y/N mumbled, her tongue beginning to feel heavy. She blinked a few times, exhaustion hitting her like a brick as she let herself relax properly for the first time in hours. “You’ll let me know when he gets back?”

“Definitely, just rest.”

Taglist: @AVERYTRUERAYOFSUNSHINE @SIRIUSLYJANHVI @BLUSHINGSKYWALKER @BLACKPINKDOLAN

@THEBABBLINGBOOKWORM @CHERRIE511 @IMLUKESNIRVANA @AVENGERSASSEMBLEE @MARAUDERSANDCO @SLY-VIXEN-UP2NOGOOD @KATBERNOULLI @SIRIUS-LYSAD @EVYIIONE​ @MINERVA26LOVE @AIKEIA @GOLLYDEREK​ @GREATWOMBATBLAZE  @SONGFORHEMA​  @YOUR-TYPICAL-GIGGLE​ @MYOWNVIPERROOM​ @HERMIONIE-IS-MY-QUEEN​ @DEMIWITCH527​@DESIDERIAENIGMA  @LAUE-BB​  @FK12B​ @SLYTHERPUFFGAL​   @FAIRTALDES @J-BRIELMALFOY​ @YOUR-TYPICAL-GIGGLE​ @DAVINCIBROCODE​  @SLEEPINGALASKA​  fific7

[hehron]

The Mischief Managing Begins

There once was a gang of close-knit mischief-makers, some of whom grew to become the greatest defenders of the Light. A series of related one-shots involving the Marauders and their friends. Let the mischief managing begin!

1. The First Train Ride

"Mum, stop!" James whined as Euphemia once again tried to flatten his hair.

"James! Hold still. You don't want to go to school looking so untidy and on your first day no less! Minerva would never let me hear the end of it," she huffed, reaching for his hair.

James ducked and ran ahead to join his father, who was talking to Mr Mckinnon.

"-a mess, really." Mr Mckinnon said, looking frazzled.

"Ah! James, excited for Hogwarts?" He asked upon seeing him.

"Yes!" He said, pumping his fist in the air.

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor, of course, just like Dad but Mum said I shouldn't be so sure because I could go to Hufflepuff. Can you believe it?" James asked affronted.

Mr Mckinnon chuckled, and his father ruffled his hair, earning him a scolding from his mother who had joined them.

"Really, Monty, don't mess it up even more."

"Let it go, Mia. He looks so handsome. I still remember when you ran around in diapers," Mrs Mckinnon said, to James's intense embarrassment.

"Where's Marly?" He asked quickly before his parents could embarrass him further.

"With Anne and Linda." Mrs Mckinnon sighed. "I tried to get her to talk to kids her own age, but she tags behind those two all day long. I'm so worried-"

James didn't wait to hear the rest as he spotted his friend talking to her cousins.

"Hey, Marly!" He called, bounding over.

"Jamie-Poo!" She grinned.

"You can't call me that anymore!" James shouted, frantically looking around to see if anyone had heard.

"I'll stop when you stop calling me Marly," she said, crossing her arms.

"We're getting on the train. See you later, Lanie." Anne called, and she and Linda left to find their friends.

"I'm coming too." Marlene quickly said, starting to follow them.

James grabbed her arm. "Wait! You have to stay here. Mum and Dad will kill me with their coddling otherwise." He pleaded.

"Fine." She agreed hesitantly, still glancing back to where the two girls had been.

"There you are! James, I told you not to run off. This place is so crowded. You could get lost! What if you had to go to Hogwarts without your trunk? Would you be okay running around your new school naked?" She demanded.

"Mu-um." He moaned.

Monty rolled his eyes at their antics.

"I'm sure it won't come to that, but your mother is right about forgetting your trunk. Best get it on the train now." He said as he levitated both his and Marlene's luggage into the nearest compartment.

"It's almost eleven. Where is she?" Euphemia sighed fretfully.

"Allison busy with her classes?" Mrs Mckinnon enquired.

"Yes, the poor thing's run dry. Stayed up all night to finish a report on something called 'amalgams'" Monty said.

"What are those?" Mr Mckinnon asked, confused.

"Something to do with teeth. Lis is fascinated with them nowadays. Says she's going to be a healer for teeth."

"They're called dentists, Dad." A voice said behind them.

"There you are! I thought you weren't going to make it." Euphemia said.

"And miss this little squirt going off to school? I'm not going to get to see him again until Christmas!" Allison cried, hugging James.

"You weren't even home last Christmas." James accused, squirming.

"Oh shush, Jamie-Poo." She said, pecking him on the cheek as Marlene burst into giggles.

"Doing good, Lene?" She asked the younger girl.

"Yeah, Anne and Linda taught me to do the Jelly-jinx! They said they would introduce me to all their friends. We're going to have so much fun!" She said excitedly.

"That sounds great, but you should try being friends with children your own age," Allison said gently.

"I tried talking to a girl, but she gave me the evil eye and started arguing with her sister." Marlene pouted.

"I'm sure it wasn't anything personal. Don't hold it against her when you get there."

"What were they fighting about?" James asked curiously.

"I don't know. Mum and Dad dragged us over here before I could eavesdrop." She said loudly, gaining the attention of their parents.

"We saw the Blacks. Had to escape before they invited us to another pureblood event," said Mr Mckinnon.

"I don't understand why you have to go to those, even if they invited you," Euphemia said, peeved.

"Someone needs to be there on the inside. The Prewetts are no longer welcome since their daughter ran off with that Weasley boy, and they refused to disown her." He explained. "If we don't take a stand, who knows what new policies they'll start pushing for! It's bad enough that we have to fight against the Muggleborn Hunting Bill, we don't need a Half-Blood Exclusion Bill on our hands as well."

Euphemia sighed. "Yes, that is true. Augusta mentioned that Frank's department is facing a lot of backlash for speaking against it."

"Isn't their son Hogwarts age?" Mrs Mckinnon mused.

"Yes, little Frank's in his third year. On that note, Augusta must be here. We must find her once the train departs. I haven't seen her in ages!" Euphemia said to Mrs Mckinnon, who readily agreed.

As if on cue, the train started whistling, and the parents fussed over their kids once more.

"James, be good," Monty said, hugging him tightly.

"Listen to Minerva and for Merlin's sake, don't call her Minnie," Euphemia said, laughing through her tears.

"But she'll always be Auntie Minnie to me!" James grinned as he got on the train.

"And don't try to fool her with the cloak. She knows about it." She continued, ignoring him.

"What cloak?" Marlene asked.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered.

"Bye, kids!" Mr Mckinnon called.

"Have fun!" Allison smiled.

"Write lots of letters." Euphemia reminded.

"Make new friends, okay?" Mrs Mckinnon said with a pointed look at her daughter, who gave her an exasperated look.

"Look out for each other!" Monty called as the train started moving.

"We will. Bye!" James shouted.

"See you at Christmas! Tell Tony I'll send him a quaffle!" Marlene laughed.

They both roared at the top of their lungs in excitement until the station disappeared from sight.

"We're going! Marly, we're finally going!" James said, jumping up and down.

"I know! I know! I'm so excited!" She squealed. "Bet I'll get a detention before you do."

"Ha! Right. I'll get detention even before sorting." He challenged.

"I believe you." She grinned.

"Let's find a compartment," James said, moving forward. "Should we sit with your brothers?"

"No way!" Marlene wrinkled her nose. "Robert will make us listen to his Head Boy speech, and Charles will be hanging out with his girlfriend and Gideon and Fabian."

They should have gotten a compartment beforehand as all of them were already full by the time they wandered in. The older students were chatting excitedly with their friends, and James wondered if he'd be the same the following year. As they made their way through the crowd, they bumped into Anne and Linda, and James knew what was going to happen next.

"Find us a seat, will you, Jamie? I'll be right there." Marlene said sweetly, and James glared at her as she joined them.

"Fine, leave me! I'm going to get detention. And you're not invited." He called back childishly and, ignoring the weird looks he was receiving, walked with purpose towards the next carriage. Now that he had made such a dramatic declaration, Marlene would never let him live it down if he didn't go through with it. How on earth was he going to get detention? A sudden idea struck him as he remembered Minnie complaining about a student stealing someone's prefect badge and parading around, scaring the first years. It was a long shot as only fifth years could be prefects, but James was tall for his age, and he could probably make it work. James put on his sweetest smile and asked a boy standing nearby.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where the prefect carriage is? My brother said he'd be meeting me here, but I think he forgot."

"Don't worry kid. It's just two carriages over."

James felt a sort of giddy excitement. It was finally time to put his new invisibility cloak to use! Stashing his trunk into a nearby corner, he slipped into the compartment, under the cloak. He saw Robert giving his big speech, which he had forced upon them the previous week, with the Head Girl interjecting in between, much to his annoyance. James sniggered and considered stealing his badge but decided against it as Rob would likely be guarding it with his life. He saw a blonde girl absently staring at the aristocratic-looking boy next to her and grinned. This would be too easy. He crept towards her and was almost there when he came to an abrupt halt. Someone was hiding underneath her seat and stuffing what seemed to be garbage into her bag. James ducked down and saw another boy, who appeared to be around his age. The boy was sporting a huge grin as he put a dead mouse, this time, in her seat. Unable to stop himself, he peeked out of the cloak and whispered.

Sirius froze mid-motion as he heard it. Heart pounding frantically, he twisted around to see a grinning floating head and wondered if this was what Kreacher meant when he told him to bring back an elf head.

"Put it between her feet."

"Put it between her feet."

Sirius knew it was childish and beyond foolish to pull a prank on Cissy. But he was already in a mood because his parents hadn't deemed him worthy enough to grace him with their presence at the station. He had flooed over with Cissy and her parents, after saying goodbye to his brother. He should have been thrilled to go to Hogwarts, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was abandoning Reg with their parents and whatever excitement had lingered had been squashed when his uncle and aunt had lectured him on behaving like a proper pureblood Slytherin. It might not have been so bad had his parents not given him the same speech every day for the past two months. Any freedom he might have dreamed of was quickly taken away by Narcissa and her boyfriend, both of whom watched him like hawks and assured him that this treatment would continue for the rest of the year. Merlin forbid the name of the Blacks be tarnished! Of course, the incest, disowning and the decapitated elf heads only enhanced the name and its honour!

Speaking of elf heads, Sirius was still staring at the floating head in front of him, wondering for a brief moment if he was a ghost. He had heard several rumours about the Nearly Headless Gryffindor ghost.

Before Sirius could respond, there was a loud shriek as Cissy jumped off the seat towards Lucius, who equally quickly pushed her away, hissing about pureblood decorum. This was it. Someone was going to look underneath the seat, and he'd be in so much trouble. Just as the Head Boy crouched low, Sirius felt something being thrown over his head and a hand yank him upwards. He looked around at the floating head, now attached to a non-floating body and spluttered.

"You're not a ghost."

The other boy clamped a hand to his mouth as Lucius demanded. "Who's there?"

Sirius grabbed the other boy and made a mad dash towards the next compartment. Once far away enough, Sirius threw off the invisibility cloak, for that was what it was, and started laughing hysterically. He soon realised that the messy-haired boy had joined him and had tears running down his face.

"That was awesome!" He wheezed between laughs. "I'm James Potter, by the way." He said, holding out his hand.

Potter. His parents had labelled them as blood traitors and had forbidden him from associating with them.

"Sirius. Want to sit together?" He asked, shaking his hand.

"Sure thing. Let me get my trunk."

Sirius had already found a compartment, it seemed, but when they made their way over, they found that it was occupied by two others. The redhead had her head turned towards the window, and a slimy haired boy was attempting to talk to her. James paid them a passing glance before turning to his new friend.

Sirius grinned. "She's my cousin actually, but she's a right nightmare. I couldn't resist it, not that I tried that hard." He finished in a conspiratorial whisper.

James laughed. "Can I help you with it next time?"

"Sure," Sirius said uneasily with a bland smile, which seemed strangely out of place on his face.

"That was so cool. Pranking a prefect like that, and on your first day!" James said excitedly.

James was about to ask him if he wanted to search for the trolley lady when he saw Marlene outside the compartment, looking at them curiously. He winced as he realised that he had forgotten to save her a seat and gave her an apologetic look. He saw her shrug and turn to a mousy looking boy before dragging him off with her.

James turned back to look at Sirius who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Do you play Quidditch?"

Sirius jerked his head up as if he had forgotten where he was.

"What?"

"Quidditch. Do you play?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "My brother and I have a match every week to see who can find the snitch first."

"Me too! My parents arrange a mini Quidditch tournament every year! My best friend, Marly, and I are chasers, which is really the best position there is." James boasted.

"No way! Seekers are the best though I personally prefer being a beater." Sirius said.

"They're okay. Will you come to the tournament next summer? My team doesn't have a good beater. I have to beg my sister to stand in sometimes, and she's terrified of moving more than a few feet off the ground." James sighed dramatically.

Sirius looked taken aback by the invitation but smiled. Before he could respond, James's attention turned to the duo beside him. The slimy haired boy was saying to the girl.

"We should be in Slytherin together."

"Slytherin?" James sneered. He had heard enough about them to know about their prejudiced beliefs. "That's the worst house there is."

"My family is filled with Slytherins," Sirius said, causing James to gape at him.

"But you didn't seem like them! You were pranking! Anyone who supports pranking has to be an okay person." He said fervently.

Sirius laughed. "I don't want to be like them. Maybe I'll end up in another house. Which one do you want to get into?"

"Gryffindor, of course, where reside the bravest of the brave!" He said, mimicking holding a sword.

"Gryffindor's filled with idiots." The slimy haired boy scoffed. "Slytherin's got talent."

"Ironic that you want to go there since you seem incapable of even washing your hair," Sirius said snidely, and they both burst into laughter.

The redhead scowled at them. "Don't mind them, Severus."

"Severus? What kind of a name is that?" James taunted, feeling an immediate dislike to the boy.

"More like Snivellus." Sirius snickered.

"Yeah, slimy Snivellus snivelling in Slytherin-" James began but was interrupted by the girl.

"Let's go. We'll find someone better to sit with." She said icily.

"Looks like Red's got a temper." Sirius teased.

"Good luck with that!" James yelled at the same time.

How rude, Lily thought as she and Severus made their way towards the front of the train.

"Arrogant gits." Severus hissed, and Lily swerved around to face him.

"They are, but you could have ignored them."

"It doesn't matter." She was already mad at him about the fight with Tuney, though she knew deep down that she was partially to blame. She shouldn't have read the Headmaster's letter to her sister, but Severus had been the one to convince her to do it.

"What's so great about Slytherin anyway?" She demanded.

"What's so great about Slytherin?" A voice said behind them. Lily turned around to see an older boy with long blonde hair, looking down at her with deep distaste.

"But-" He gaped. "They were making fun of Slytherin. I-"

"She didn't mean it," Severus said quickly, and before she could protest, he had introduced them.

"Evans? Must be a mudblood." He sneered. Lily frowned. The word was obviously an insult, but she had no idea what it meant. Apparently, her friend did because he gave her a hesitant look.

"Listen here, mudblood. You don't belong here. Why don't you run back to your pathetic muggle world?"

Now, everything made sense to Lily. She gave Severus a betrayed look. He had promised her that she wouldn't be less than anyone because of her normal heritage. Suddenly, all her fears of not belonging crashed down, and she felt like she would cry.

"Any problems here?" A deep voice said as Lily viciously blinked back tears.

Another boy, closer to the blonde boy's age, had joined them. Like the first boy, he also had a gleaming prefect badge but was wearing robes of red and gold.

"None of your business, Shacklebolt." The blonde sneered.

"It is if you are terrorising first years, Malfoy."

Malfoy gave them a disgusted look before walking away.

"Are you alright?" The other boy asked. Lily nodded.

"I'm Kingsley. What's your name?"

"Lily Evans." She said, a bit shyly.

"Don't you have a compartment? You could sit with my friends and me if you like." He offered.

"Thank you." She said, relieved. Kingsley had a voice that somehow made her feel calm and safe.

She turned to call Severus, but he was staring after Malfoy. She felt a spike of irritation flare up. She had defended him when those boys had taunted him, but he couldn't be bothered to do the same.

"I'm going to sit with Kingsley." She stated.

"But Lily, he's a Gryffindor." He whispered.

"So? I'd much rather be a Gryffindor than a Slytherin. You can go after him if you like, but I'm not coming with you."

Severus looked conflicted, before relenting.

"No, no. I want to sit with you." He said and followed her into Kingley's compartment.

Marlene had left to look for James once Anne and Linda had started talking about a curriculum that she could barely understand. She felt a pang of sadness as she realised that they'd probably be in different houses. She never was one for learning, so she doubted that she would be in Ravenclaw with them. She hoped that at least she and James would be in the same house. She was so lost in thought that she bumped into someone, causing them to topple over.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She said in a breadth as she helped the boy up.

"It's okay." he squeaked.

"I'm Marlene Mckinnon. What's your name?" She smiled.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"You can sit with me. I think my friend, James, would have found a compartment by now." She said and bounded down the aisle. "Come on."

He hurried to keep up with her as she peeked into every compartment to see if he was there. Where was he? Was he still trying to get detention? Maybe she should have gone with him. She came to an abrupt half as she saw him laughing with someone else, his compartment already full. He caught her eye, and she could see it in his eyes that he had forgotten about her. Typical James. He really could forget everything when he got excited. She shrugged, trying to push away any embarrassment and told Peter to keep walking.

"How much longer do you think we need to look?" Peter asked, struggling to carry his trunk.

"Hello, Peter. Don't you have anywhere to sit?" She asked, and he shook his head no.

"I don't know." She said, looking back. "Seems all of th-"

"Mckinnon." Marlene turned and found herself face to face with Narcissa Black.

"Black." She said, biting the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. The last time she had seen her, she had been covered head to toe in pumpkin juice.

"You shouldn't be running about the train." She said stiffly.

"I'm not. We're looking for a compartment."

"I find it hard to believe that you still haven't found-"

"There she is! Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you! Where's our compartment?" Marlene called out to a girl nearby, who turned to her in surprise. She took one look at Narcissa and understanding dawned on her face.

"It's right here. I've been waiting for you." She said smoothly. "Can I help you, Black?"

"No. Just make sure your friend isn't loose around the place." She sneered.

"Who'll make sure you're not loose around the place," Marlene muttered, and Peter sniggered beside her.

"Thanks a lot for that." Marlene grinned once she was out of earshot.

"No problem. I'm Dorcas Meadows." The other girl smiled.

"Marlene. That's Peter."

"If you guys really need a compartment, you could share with Mary and me."

"Thank you so much! You're our knight in Gryffindor armour." Marlene sighed dramatically.

"Not yet but we will be once we tell you all you need to know about being first years. Second years like us are without a doubt the wisest..." She launched into a detailed account of her adventures as a first year, with Mary chiming in between and Peter listening in awe and Marlene relaxed for the first time that day.

Alice Prewett was not happy. Ever since her cousin, Molly, had run away with Arthur Weasley, the purebloods had made sure to make their hateful opinions known to the remaining members of the family. She had sat down with Anastasia Abbot and Edgar Bones when Parkinson and his gang had bullied them out. Ana and Edgar had joined Edgar's sister, but her friends were less than receptive of the now defamed Prewetts.

So now Alice was once again without a seat despite getting on the train half an hour before its departure. Life really was unfair. She wondered if the other first years had faced the same problem. Probably not.

It wasn't her fault that her cousin had run off with someone or that her aunt and uncle hadn't approved of their union. Personally, Alice thought it was quite selfish of Molly to abandon them, without a second thought-

The train jerked, and Alice tripped just as a compartment door opened. She shrieked, sure that she was going to fall headfirst into the ground, but a pair of arms caught her. She opened her eyes to see the most handsome face she had ever seen in her life, staring back at her with concern. His brown hair was neatly kept, and his eyes reminded her of her favourite chocolate pudding.

His lips were moving, and she was suddenly pulled back from her happy trance.

"What?" She exclaimed in a high pitched voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Can you let go then?" He asked bashfully, and she realised that she was still clinging to him like a vine. She jumped back, blushing and spluttering, and then the most embarrassing thing that could happen happened. She tripped over her suitcase and fell flat on her back. She closed her eyes, wishing that the earth would just swallow her whole. She would have happily lain there for the rest of the trip if it meant that she had somehow not made a fool of herself in front of the handsome boy.

"Are-are you okay?" Oh, Merlin. His voice was way too close, and Alice squinted through her eyelids to see him crouching beside her head. No. Why couldn't he just have walked away? Because then he wouldn't be such a hero. A voice said in the back of her mind.

Swallowing her pride and dignity, Alice scrambled to her feet.

"Oh-yes, thank you." She said, attempting to smile.

"Yes, I-yes. I'll be going now. Bye." She turned and started in the same direction she had come from.

"Wait!" He called. "There aren't any seats left there."

"That's okay!" She said and continued walking. She'd much rather stand for the rest of the trip rather than make a fool out of herself in front of him again.

"No, wait! The last compartment is empty except for one boy."

Alice stopped. She could stand the rest of the way to Hogwarts or turn back around and sit comfortably. But the latter option meant facing the handsome boy again, and Alice wasn't sure she could do that without humiliating herself further. Gathering her courage, mostly because her legs were hurting from having tripped two times in two minutes, she turned back towards him.

He smiled. "I'm Frank Longbottom by the way. Are you a first year?"

"Yes. Alice Prewett." She saw recognition light his eyes and waited for the insults to come.

"Have a good year, Alice. Don't worry. Everyone's nervous as a first year." He said kindly and waved before joining his friends. And at that moment, Alice understood Molly for the first time because she knew that she too would run away with Frank Longbottom if she got the chance.

Remus Lupin was excited, though you wouldn't guess that, given his serious expression. Ever since the werewolf attack when he was five, he had given up all hope of ever going to Hogwarts like his father. But two months ago, Headmaster Dumbledore had arrived at his house like a godsent angel and had given him a chance at what he was sure was out of his reach. His parents had been sceptical at first. How on earth could a werewolf go to a boarding school with normal students? But his pleas and the Headmaster's reassurances had finally eased their concerns enough for them to let him go, at least for a year. If he could adjust well, without letting anybody know his secret, he could stay.

Remus knew just how dangerous life would be for him if he were outed as a werewolf. He knew his parents' concerns were legitimate, but he was determined to make it work.

He had set rules for himself. Don't gain attention. Talk to no one. Follow Professor Dumbledore's instructions.

So he had chosen the last compartment in the hope that no one else would join him. He had taken a book and was pretending to read when the door opened. Remus tensed and refrained from looking up. Maybe if he didn't respond, they'd go away.

"Excuse me?" She asked, and Remus carefully looked up at a blonde girl with a chubby face, standing awkwardly at the door.

"Can I sit here? It's the only empty one." She said.

Remus nodded and gave her a tentative smile before returning to stare at his book. This was an unexpected development. But he'd be fine. He just wouldn't engage in conversation.

He saw her watching him from the corner of his eye and steadfastly ignored her.

After half an hour, when Remus was sure she wouldn't speak, he looked up. She was staring out the window with a dreamy expression on her face. He wondered if all first years looked like that, in their excitement to reach Hogwarts. Before he could look away, she caught his eye and gave a half-smile. He quickly busied himself with his book, but it was too late.

"Yes." He said in a small voice, hoping she wouldn't pursue the conversation. Unfortunately, it seemed luck wasn't on his side.

"What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin." And only because it was the polite thing to do, he asked. "What's yours?"

"Are you a first year too?"

"Alice Prewett."

"What house do you want to get into?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Ravenclaw because I love books." He raised his book, hoping she would take the hint.

"Oh. I'm hoping for Hufflepuff, but my cousins are all Gryffindors."

"Oh."

There was an uncomfortable silence after that and Remus realised that she was trying as hard to make conversation as he was trying to avoid it. He swallowed his guilt. It was better to be rude now because she'd be a whole lot worse if she found out about his condition.

The train journey carried on with little interruption other than Alice's cousins checking in on her and both of them taking turns to change into their school robes. As he stepped onto the platform at Hogsmeade, Remus knew that while he was different, at that moment, he felt just like everyone else as he stood there with excited anticipation about this new phase of their lives. Whatever happens, it was going to be a glorious adventure.

[midnightelite]

A Witch’s Guide to Pillow Forts: The Barrette Method

Me and @solstilla​ co-wrote a cute little one-shot for you guys!

He can battle Slytherins, he can face Death Eaters, he can even look Voldemort in the eye and defy him. But he can not stand thunderstorms. Fluff fic!

You can read it on AO3 or FFN

The rain was pounding on the roof of James and Lily’s brand new apartment-their first apartment they’d ever owned together. Hopefully, it would be one of many. Lily lay surrounded by cool air and the smell of James and Sirius’s apartment as it still lingered on the furniture. It was familiar and comforting; the perfect combination filled her heart with the feeling of home, slowly lulling her to the brink of sleep. Between moving out of her parents’ home, helping Sirius and James pack up their old apartment, and unloading boxes from the rental van her father had gotten her, Lily was absolutely knackered.

She vaguely heard the front door open and close, and the sound pulled her back to reality. James had just returned from Sirius’s new flat! Her face lit up as James entered the room, scrambling up from her spot on the sofa and bounding into his arms. Lily smiled up into his eyes, going on her toes to press her lips to his. James ducked before their lips met, a small smirk gracing his features before he pulled her into a tight hug.

“You were gone entirely too long. I missed you,” she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder. “You owe me James time tonight. Do you hear me?“ Lily tilted her head back to look up at him, her nose bumping his with how close they were.

“Oh isn’t someone getting overly attached now that we live together? If you’re lucky, you’ll get some James time.” He pressed a kiss to her nose and pulled back, starting to walk away. 

“James!” she squealed, taking hold of his hand so he wouldn’t go too far. “You missed!” Lily tugged him closer with their conjoined hands, batting her lashes up at the dark-haired boy. 

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I hit my mark.” He winked before turning and leaving the room.

She watched him leave, her lips parting in surprise. What was he up to? James had never rejected a kiss from her, and while she could tell he wasn’t upset, Lily knew he was up to something. She heard the shower in their downstairs bathroom turn on and huffed before sitting back on the sofa. Fine. Two could play at that game. 

As the minutes ticked on, Lily got lost in the sound of the rain hitting the window pane. It reminded her of how much Petunia and her enjoyed rainy days when they were younger. Memories came flooding back, memories of laughter and togetherness, and simpler times. 

Petunia raced in, holding a pile of blankets in her hands. “Lily! Come help me hang these!” Lily looked up from where she sat. She stood up to grab a blanket from Petunia and once she started building, she copied Tuney’s precise work. The two worked tirelessly to perfect their own little blanket castle. Bed sheets flung over the armchairs and clipped onto each other with Lily’s barrettes. The barrettes were the most important part. Not only did using the many different color barrettes the girls had introduce decoration to their design, it was crucial to the structural integrity. With the barrettes in place, their castle was looking good. After the two sisters made sufficient progress on the walls of the structure, they switched to the interior, laying down every pillow and cushion they could find along the floor in front of the sofa. Quilts and fuzzy blankets draped over the tops of the cushions so the cracks in between the pillows wouldn’t be as noticeable, but they were lacking the right amount to fully snuggle underneath. Their mother must have heard them complaining, for moments later she would usually stroll in carrying a heap of fuzzy blankets.

 When their masterpiece was finally finished, Petunia would crawl inside carrying a torch with her. Lily, on the other hand, found it much more important to bring their favorite fairy tales with them. Although it sometimes took some begging, Tuney would read those treasured stories of fairies, unicorns, and even wizards! Weaving entire worlds around battles and romance with the thunder crashing down around them. A little later on their parents would usually join them, taking over the storytelling so that both girls could snuggle close together.  With the fireplace lit just outside their own little fortress, their imaginations filled with wonders beyond belief, and their parents by their sides, little Lily had never been more at peace. 

The rain was picking up outside, but Lily didn’t notice the sound until the boom of thunder forced her back to the present. 

Thump. 

Well that wasn’t thunder. The sound seemed to originate from the bathroom, so she stood to investigate when James came barreling into their living room donning nothing but a towel hastily tied around his hips. Lily’s eyes scanned him up and down. He hadn’t even dried off yet.

“Where’s the fire?” 

“What do you mean fire? My life was at risk! Showering during a lightning storm? Do you want to be a widow?” He tried to hide the panic in his eyes, passing it off as a joke. He failed miserably, if Lily’s stifled laughter was anything to consider. At least she was kind enough to try to hide it. 

“James, deer, we’re not even engaged.” Lily slipped her hand into his, squeezing gently. 

“We already have three children,” James said in such a matter-of-fact voice Lily had to wrack her brain to remember when she was ever pregnant. “Considering how Sirius, Peter and Remus act, and all.” He added. That made more sense. “I feel like we are basically married at this point. Which means me dying would make you a widow.” 

Lily snorted. “Right. Well the storm isn’t going to kill yo-” Another crash of thunder echoed outside, and he couldn’t help the jump his body decided was appropriate given the circumstance. And that’s when it hit her. “Oh my gosh, you’re scared.” 

“Me? Scared? Absolutely not! I literally dueled Slytherin students in the corridor. I faced Death Eaters just last week! I looked Voldemort in the eye and told him no. This is just weather Lily. Please pull yourself together and stop projecting.” He hoped the tremor wasn’t evident in his voice. 

Lily couldn’t help but grin, watching her boyfriend as she leaned against the back of the sofa. James was visibly trying not to squirm under her penetrative gaze. She knew this was nothing compared to his daily life, but he was still at least a little bit scared. How was it possible for one man to be so adorable? 

“Hmm. Right. Okay, I’ll stop projecting,” Before Lily could continue her thought, another boom shook the house. This time even Lily had to admit she was a bit startled, but James...James was a whole other story. The color from his face drained and you could see the anxiety behind his eyes. 

 She shot him a knowing look, her eyes speaking for her. “Fess up, buttercup.” 

“OkaywhenIlivedwithmyparentsyoucouldn’treallyhearorseeanythingfrommyroomandthenwhenImovedinwithSiriushealwaysdistractedmebylettingloosemysnitchormakingmeplaywizard’schessuntilIdidn’tnoticethestormanymore!” James mumbled incomprehensibly.

“What?” Lily shook her head. “I got like half of that. James, love, it’s me. You can tell me anything. You know that.”

James took a deep breath. “I am a bit afraid, okay? I didn't notice as a kid when I lived with my parents. The house was so big the sound never really carried in. I did notice very much when I moved in with Sirius, but he was always good at distracting me! Now…” James’s eyes fell toward the ground. He looked defeated. 

“Now you need a distraction,” Lily finished, nodding her head. Everyone had their thing. Lily had spiders. James had thunderstorms. Honestly, it was a bit relieving to see someone usually so strong and fearless have simple fears like this. But she wasn’t going to let what happened earlier just slip by without a proper response. 

She smirked, tilting her head to the side. Her fingers found their way into her red locks, twirling a strand playfully. “And your wife isn’t a distraction enough?” She pouted her lips, looking up at him with the biggest doe eyes James Potter had ever seen. 

His eyebrows disappeared behind his damp hair. Lowering his voice, the corners of his lips quirked up.  “You are more than enough a distraction” James leaned in to meet her lips.

Perfect. Right where she wanted him. She let him linger right in front of her, so close they were almost touching. Almost. 

“I have a better idea,” her lips quirked up at the corners, reminiscent of the man standing in front of her. James’s eyebrows rose momentarily before he began to wiggle them. She had to suppress a laugh and waited a few seconds, letting him hang on the edge. James lingered just on the precipice of seduction before Lily changed her demeanor entirely. Just as he made a move to close off any space between them, she turned her head quickly so his advance landed on her cheek instead. He may have wanted a kiss on the lips, but he would have to, what were his words? He would have to be pretty lucky to make that mark.  “James,” Lily said in a sugary sweet tone, “I was going to suggest we make a blanket and pillow fort, what kind of woman do you take me for?” She placed her hand over her heart to complete the dramatic remark. 

Lily watched as about a dozen different emotions flashed across his face in only a matter of seconds before settling on something a bit more guarded. “I am so sorry if I have dishonored you. I thought I was fulfilling your wishes. I hope you do go easy on me.” 

He knew just what heart strings he was tugging on, but Lily was not going to dwell on that or her plan would completely crumble. “Yeah, okay, Mr. Darcy, now go get changed. Also while you’re up there, can you look through the box in our room for extra blankets?” James flashed his signature sideways grin at her, back to his normal self. 

“As you wish.” James swept into a deep bow before turning and heading up the stairs towards their bedroom. 

“That’s from The Princess Bride!” Lily called after him. Though he was already in their bedroom, she still heard his laughter carry down the stairs. She smiled to herself, wondering how she ever got so lucky to have James as her boyfriend. Not that she would ever say that aloud. He doesn’t need a bigger head. While he was preoccupied, she busied herself with pulling the cushions off the couch to prepare for the inside of their fortress. Just like when she was a kid. Grabbing her wand off the coffee table beside the sofa, Lily shot a couple sparks into the fireplace: a skill she didn’t have as a kid. She tucked it into her hair for easy access, just in case she would need it inside the fort. 

The thud thud thud thud of James bounding down the stairs caught her off guard. She popped her head up, squealing at the sight of him. James’s tower of blankets peaked over his head. Only his fleece pajama bottoms from Euphemia distinguished him as a human as opposed to a blanket monster. 

“How many blankets does a full grown woman need?” She could hear the jest in his tone. He then unceremoniously dropped the blankets into a pile on the now cushionless sofa. 

“I get cold.” Lily rubbed her hands together in excitement, overlooking their supplies. 

“Yeah well, considering the circumstances I don’t think you’ll need this many blankets. I am the human equivalent of a heater.” That pulled her away from her plans for a moment, looking up at him with glee on her face. 

“Maybe, if you’re lucky tonight,” she repeated the phrase from earlier, quirking one eyebrow at him. 

“With the amount of blankets you have, my deer,  you may need to be the lucky one. I’ll be just fine.” Lily rolled her eyes at the wink he sent her way, and took his hand so he could stand next to her and overlook their supplies together.  How his arm made its way around her waist, she wasn’t quite sure. Lily gave in just a bit, leaning into his side. 

After a moment of reflection, Lily set to work by draping blankets over the sofa to build the foundation of the external walls. James quickly followed suit. 

“Hey, love, can you get the chairs from the dining room?” She pointed, scratching her head as she built the pillow fort in her mind. Something was missing, but she couldn’t place her finger on what exactly. 

“Of course, Master Lily.” James made to bow again, so Lily threw a cushion at his head. Which he promptly caught before dropping it and leaving the room with way too much of a skip in his step. Damn those Quidditch reflexes. 

James brought in the first two chairs, acting as if he was returning from some great battle with his pride in holding one on either side of him. Pretending she didn’t notice her show-off of a boyfriend, Lily kept focused on the sheets. Only when he returned and set down the last two chairs did she look up. 

“What’s next, my princess?”

“It’s queen, actually.” The smile he shot her was bright enough to light up the whole planet, completely and utterly blinding. Queen. She and Petunia would pretend their pillow forts were castles. Her smile turned bittersweet, to which James scrambled to sit beside her. 

Lily blinked at his gesture. Poor James was all worried over nothing. Sitting up a little straighter, Lily took his hands in her own. “James, have I ever told you about what me and Tuney would do on rainy days?” James shook his head. She took a deep breath and continued on. 

“Before I knew about magic, Tuney and I were best friends. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that?” She looked at him for affirmation. He nodded his head. “When it was storming bad, I’d always get a little bit scared, but Tuney always knew that getting my hands busy would keep my mind off what was raging on outside. She would run and grab all the extra blankets and sheets from our linen closet and we would build fortressesses.

“At first, they were small, but as we grew they would take over the entire living room. We would spend most of the day constructing them.” Lily laughed, looking around their new living room. It seemed such a tall order now. “Building the walls with different sheets and blankets, padding the inside with sofa cushions and pillows. Then when we were done, we liked to pretend they were our castles and we were princesses like from the fairytales. I would always bring our favorite stories in and she would create magical worlds filled with every creature imaginable. I would completely forget about the storm raging around us. Eventually as it got later, my mum and dad joined us, and would take over the storytelling. We would end up camping out in the living room, falling asleep after cuddles and bedtime stories. Sometimes Dad would wake us up with cinnamon hot cocoa.” A quiet laugh escaped through her lips. “It’s funny, I was scared, but these are some of my fondest memories.”

Lily looked up from her lap a little misty eyed, that same bittersweet look from before gracing her features. James leaned over to kiss the one tear that slipped down her cheek away. She pulled him closer into a tight hug. Although claps of thunder sounded outside, she didn’t even feel him flinch. 

As the silence settled James blurted out,“Have I ever mentioned I love you?” Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation. What a sap, right? She kissed his cheek and pulled him up from the floor. 

“Hmmm….I don't recall. It doesn’t sound familiar. What was it again?” Lily’s eyes crinkled as he tackled her with a bunch of kisses all over her face.Catching herself with one hand, the other landed on his chest, and she gave him a gentle push to create more space between them, much to the disappointment of both parties, so that they could return their focus to the task at hand.

“Hey, I’d say you’re thoroughly distracted, but this fort still needs some work, so get back to it!” 

James stood at attention and saluted. The two lovebirds began setting the chairs a good distance apart, smiles blossomed on their faces as they worked in comfortable silence. They graduated to padding the inside with the cushions. As they were nearing the end, the draped blankets just weren't staying in place like they should. They kept slipping down from where they hung them. It hit her like a ton of bricks: she'd forgotten the most important part!

“Hold up!” She darted towards the stairs, the biggest, goofiest grin on her face. James was left to catch the end of the blanket she’d dropped when she left. “I know just what we need to finish this off!” 

 Lily raced up the stairs, towards the bedroom, on a mission to acquire her secret ingredient. The mahogany nightstand’s top drawer had been claimed as their junk drawer, slowly filling up with odds and ends from both Lily and James over time. During this move, the junk seemed to accumulate much faster. She tugged open the drawer harshly, excited to get back to her project with James when she spotted it. A little blue velvet box. 

Her breath hitched. What was this doing in the junk drawer? If Lily’s heart hammered any faster she was afraid it was going to explode. Now she needed the distraction. She reached a shaky hand out and grabbed the box. Why was this in the junk drawer? 

This better not be what she thought it was. 

Still debating if she should open it or not, she jumped at the sound of James’s voice. It was incomprehensible over the blood pumping in her ears. 

“What?” She didn’t turn around, focusing on the feeling of the velvet box moving between her fingers. Why was this in the junk drawer? 

“Lils? Are you okay? I thought you knew what you were grabbing, want me to come up and help you find it?” 

“No!” she yelped, far too fast of a response. Far too panicked. Just as she heard James scramble up to check on her, she spotted the barrettes, snagged them before racing down to see her boyfriend before he could find her at the junk drawer. 

Why would you put a ring box in the junk drawer? 

“Hi,” she breathed, moving to wave her hand but realizing she was still holding the box! She smiled sheepishly, quickly hiding the box behind her back. 

“Hey…” James narrowed, his eyes, leaning to the side to try and see just what Lily was holding. 

“Found the barrettes,” she said, holding up her other hand. Like a magician, the idea of distraction would work.. Right? Lily laid the hand with the barrettes on his shoulder, giving him a nudge to turn around and move towards the living room again. 

Another thunderclap and this time he truly has no reaction at all. Well at least she managed to keep his mind off the storm. Lily tried for a reassuring smile, giving his shoulder another nudge. He was silent, but he actually turned around and went down the stairs.

Said silence lasted a lifetime. Finally, he whipped around with a blazing look in his eyes. She was not off the hook. Perhaps if she decided to start the conversation, she could gauge his reaction. 

“Funny story...So I found the strangest thing while looking for my barrettes upstairs…” Lily unfolded her hand to show him the small velvet box. “Any idea why this was in the junk drawer?” 

The color drained from James’s face as he realized what she’d discovered. Lily could practically hear his internal monologue.

 Okay so I have two options here: pretend I have no idea what she is talking about, or fess up. Though the former is looking more appealing at the moment because she does not seem happy. Oh god. What if she isn’t happy? What if she doesn’t want to marry me? What if- 

“James, do you not plan to use this?” She decided to go easy on him seeing the doubt and fear creep into his face. He really was an open book, at least to her. The longer they were together, the more fluent in James Potter she became. 

“I-uh planned to use it eventually?” 

“It was in our junk drawer,” Lily deadpanned.  

 “I was kinda hoping it would get buried and you wouldn’t notice…” His hand flew up to his hair in an attempt to subdue the wince creeping onto his features. 

“How long have you had this, James?” Instead of looking at him, she was entirely focused on the blue box. She hadn’t even opened it yet.  

“Uh.. Do you want the truth? Or like an answer that will make you comfortable?” His hand still had yet to leave his locks alone. 

Despite the whirlwind inside her, Lily managed to choke out a laugh, dragging his hand from his hair and into her own.

“The truth, please.” 

“So you remember that time you came over and met my parents for the first time?” Lily nodded. Of course. She’d been so nervous, and Euphemia and Fleamont had treated her as if she was the daughter they’d never had. “Christmas break, seventh year?” A smile tugged at Lily’s cheeks. 

“You made me cookies the muggle way and burnt them to a crisp. I remember.” James let out a little chuckle.

“Well Mum loved you, and after you left she told me, ‘You better marry that girl James,’ and gave me the ring.” He took the box from her still outstretched hand, hesitating for just a moment before kneeling in front of her. Inside the box was an ornate ring, with a gold band and emeralds instead of diamonds.

“Lily, I knew from the moment I met you that you were it for me. Although, it was nice to hear Mum felt similarly. This was my grandmum’s engagement ring; her and my grandfather were married for seventy-six years. Mum said it would bring us good luck, and really, what I was trying to get at before I got side tracked with the ring’s history is...You have bewitched me body and soul. You are the greatest adventure I’ve had thus far, and I do not wish for it to end.” 

Lily dropped the barrettes she had been gripping so tightly,  covering her mouth with her hand as she felt the prickle of wetness start to form in her eyes. 

“I love you. I want to wake up next to you every morning and kiss you goodnight-if I’m lucky-every evening. I want this to be only the first of the many, many places we live together. I want to travel the world with you. I want to win this war with you by my side. I want to explore new places, new things with you, only with you. 

I want to start a family with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to live every waking moment with you by my side. And it would be the greatest honour of my life, if you, Lily Marie Evans, would agree to be my wife. ” 

Lily’s lips quivered, tears slipping down her cheeks as she looked down at him. She slipped down to his level and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, yes, a hundred million times, yes. James Potter, I want to marry you.” 

James stood, his arms snaking around Lily’s waist and spinning her with him, snug against his chest. Lily squealed, hugging James tighter, as her tears turned into laughter. He spun her around and around until they both were dizzy. When he eventually placed her back on the ground, Lily refused to let go. Whether it was due to affection or the room spinning was still up in the air. All she knew was she’d never felt this way before. Never in her life had Lily experienced this much joy, this much peace. Not even those nights camping in her living room. He was her home, and she his.  

James stared down at his fiancée-his fiancée!-  in total adoration. His thumb rubbed along her cheek in a tender caress. 

“I feel pretty lucky tonight, James.”  He smirked, and pressed his lips to hers briefly. Lily met his eyes, glancing towards the ring box to which he happily slid the ring onto her finger.

“Have I ever mentioned I love you?” Lily whispered, a smile far too similar to James’s signature lopsided grin toying on her lips. 

“Hmmm….I don't recall. It doesn’t sound familiar. What was it again?” Lily threw her head back in laughter, pulling him in close for a passionate kiss. Only when they both were breathless did she pull away. “Why don’t we make good use of that fort we built?” 

His lips brushed against hers ever so slightly. “I suppose I do feel lucky.” 

Lily and James disappeared behind the entrance to their dilapidating castle, the barrettes lay on the ground forgotten. 

[pulaasul]

Master of Death

It was supposed to be over.

Everyone was grieving and celebrating at the same time. The victory they garnered against Lord Voldemort's army was pretty bittersweet, they all lost so much during this war.

When someone new attacked.

FFN I AO3

----------

It was supposed to be over.

Everyone was grieving and celebrating at the same time. The victory they garnered against Lord Voldemort's army was pretty bittersweet, they all lost so much during this war.

Cedric Diggory, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey and Lavender Brown, were among the few students that died in the war.

Harry has just repaired his wand using the Elder Wand when someone yelled.

"Expelliarmus"

"Bloody Hell!"

"What in Merlin's name is happening?!"

The Elder Wand flew out of Harry's hands and into the gloved hands of someone wearing an unaffiliated black robe and a hood.

"Diffindo!"

"Confringo!"

"Stupefy!"

Ron and Hermoine fought back against unknown assailant but all their spells were deflected with the Elder Wand the unknown assailant had recently acquired.

"What in the blazes is happening?!"

Molly Weasely rushed to her son, as did the people inside the castle, when she heard Hermoine and Ron shouting spells outside.

"Who are you?!" Professor Mcgonagall raised her wand at the unknown person before her.

"Accio: Resurrection Stone; Accio: Cloak of Invisibility!"

The raised Elder Wand let out two balls of sky blue light that diverged into different directions.

The Weasely Matriach and Professor Mcgonagal didn't wait for the summoned objects to arrive when they began their attacks at the unknown assailant. They assaulted them with a barrage of non-verbal spells in succession, in the hopes of interrupting the spell they cast.

Taking cue from both women, the other wizards and witches, Harry, Hermoine and Ron included, attacked the unknown assailant with a barrage of verbal spells from stunning spells to petrifying spells.

However, none of them connected.

The man was probably protected by layers of shield charms, like the one the staff of Hogwarts summoned prior to Voldemort's attack.

"Stop!"

The unknown person yelled as soon as the summoned objects were on his hands.

"How did you know where to find the resurrection stone?!" Harry demanded.

"Tell me, people of Hogwarts, do you want to reverse the deaths that happened because of this war?" The unknown person ignored 'the boy who lived'.

Everyone fell silent at the question.

All of them were inclined to say yes to the question, they have lost so many for this war. The Weasleys moreso than anyone else, having lost Fred a few hours prior.

"What has that got to do with us?" Harry questioned.

"Harry Potter, the boy who lived." The unknown person acknowledged the Potter. "You mean to tell me that you don't want someone dear to you, returned?" The person's head tilted, as if conveying confusion. "One Cedric Diggory or one Fred Weasely perhaps?"

"We all die." Harry countered. "The Deathly Hallows were created by Death to lure the three brothers to their demise." He stepped forward, as if challenging the assailant.

"Harry's right!" Ron stepped right beside Harry.

"Whatever you're offering is bound to kill us sooner rather than later." Hermoine declared.

"Ah, the story of Death and the Three brothers." The assailant nodded. "You three are quite knowledgeable despite not attending your last years at the school."

Murmurs erupted amongst everyone in the school grounds.

"It has been said that anyone possessing all three of the Deathly Hallows is the master of Death." The unknown person stated. "The Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand," They raised all three of the Deathly Hallows for everyone to see. "Being the Elder Wand's master grants me the immeasurable power and do things that was deemed impossible at first, such as Harry repairing his wand earlier."

Ron and Hermoine looked at their friend and the wand that he carried.

"The people resurrected by the Resurrection Stone don't belong to the mortal world anymore!" Hermoine argued. "That was how Death got to the second brother."

"The name of the stone is misleading." The unknown person chuckled. "This one simply summons the souls and appear before its owner."

"Prove it!" Ron yelled.

"Accio: Souls lost to Voldemort's quest for immortality."

A bright sky blue light shone from both the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone.

One by one, souls of the people lost in the war appeared behind the unknown person from the previous war's casualties to the recent one's including: The Potters, the Bones, the Lupins, the members of the Order of the Phoenix and even Dumbledore himself.

Among them were the Death Eaters who served Voldemort dutifully and the innocents that were dragged into the war like one Cedric Diggory

"Wha-"

"How are you able to summon us?" The ghostly form of one Albus Dumbledore inquired.

"I am the current Master of Death." The hooded person shrugged.

"Cedric…" Cho trailed off.

"Hello Cho." Cedric greeted.

"Harry, thank you for fulfilling my wish." Cedric faced his fellow Triwizard champion expressed his gratitude.

"Anytime." Harry nodded. "It's the least I could do."

"Fred…"

"Hey George, Mom," Fred Weasely waived while adorning a sad smile. "Guess I won't need a broom anymore." He chuckled as he floated around

"I guess you don't." George managed to smile at the poorly-timed joke.

"George." Molly trailed off.

Molly knew how close her children were, even her estranged son, the twins more so with each other. She was crushed when she saw her son's body lay on the floor, her maternal heart couldn't take the take seeing the living twin's grief at the sight of his twin.

"What's the catch?" Charlie questioned.

"A life for a life."

Everyone looked at each other, living and dead alike, unsure how to proceed.

A lot of the survivors wanted for their dead loved ones return back to life, but they also knew it was useless to sacrifice themselves for their sake when it'd hurt the person they tried to resurrect.

The hooded figure couldn't help but nod at the scene they were seeing. They were clearly torn at the decision they were trying to make.

"Perhaps I should rephrase that, but first..."

Everyone stood attentively at that announcement.

"Accio: Slytherin Robes! Accio: Draco Malfoy's shirt!"

Another ball of sky blue light erupted from the Elder Wand and summoned the Slytherin students, who were wearing their robes, and the Malfoys, in front of the hooded figure.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Luscious Malfoy demanded. "Release my son at once!"

"Y-you're going to sacrifice all Slytherin students?" Neville questioned the figure.

Everyone gasped at the question.

A lot of the Slytherin students were fearful at the question's answer. A lot of them had sided with Professor Snape when he took over as Hogwarts' Headmaster. Some were even sons and daughters of Death Eaters, who had killed a lot of the students during the war.

Among the fearful people were the Malfoys, after what their family has gone through with Voldemort, here they were again thrust into an inescapable situation with Draco's life hanging in a balance once more.

"I simply wish for four sacrifices, one for each house, and return the fallen students of Hogwarts since Voldemort started his bid for immortality." The hooded figure stated. "I simply summoned the Slytherin students so we may have a complete audience."

"By that reasoning, you're only returning the students who died in the second war?" James Potter inquired.

"Unfortunately." The hooded figure shook their head. "The first war's young fatalities, died simply too far in the past."

"Which means Moaning Myrtle won't be included." Hermoine gasped.

"No, she was never a candidate in the first place." The unknown figure shook their head. "Her death happened before Voldemort rose into power for the first time."

"What about Cedric?" Harry questioned. "He was Voldemort's first casualty in his second war."

The hooded figure looked towards the ghostly Hufflepuff in silence, as if contemplating on how to answer the question.

"Technically, I didn't die in the war." Cedric spoke up. "It's okay Harry, it wasn't your fault."

The Hufflepuff students who looked up to Cedric were silent. They had blamed the Harry Potter for Cedric's death, they might not have been so open about it like when he was chosen as the fourth champion, but the resentment was still there. They had realized far too late that 'the boy who lived' carried the guilt of carrying the corpse of Hufflepuff's champion as well.

The Gryffindors on the other hand knew of Harry's struggles with his guilt towards Voldemort's first kill, especially the members of Dumbledore's Army. They even had the guy's picture as inspiration for the army.

"Standing here will get us nowhere." The hooded figure declared. "I will leave you to choose who your sacrifices will be."

"Take me!" Harry declared, not waiting for any discussion.

"Harry!" Hermoine and Ron protested.

Harry simply looked at his best friend and their protests ceased. Both Hermoine and Ron knew all the struggles Harry had endured during his seven years interacting with the Wizarding World.

"It's alright, I'm supposed to be dead anyway." Harry offered sadly.

"I'll represent the Ravenclaws." Luna offered.

A number of the Ravenclaw Students, especially those who were in Luna's year audibly gulped at the declaration.

Things were forcibly put into perspective starting from Cedric's death during the Triwizard tournament. There were things a lot more important than making fun of someone different. That perspective was hammered even more into their psyches during Umbridge's Tenure as professor of the school, and Headmaster Dumbledore's death.

Some of them have even realized that their actions had been no different than Voldemort's.

"Harry, Luna you two can't be serious!" Neville protested.

"I am." Harry looked right into Neville's eyes.

"I do hope death is personable and not as nasty as the nargles or heliopaths." Luna smiled.

"I doubt it." Harry shook his head.

"I'll go as well." Hermoine stepped forward.

"Hermoine!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermoine simply looked at Ron with eyes full of sorrow. It conveyed all the suffering she had gone through in the war. It may have seem out of character for her to do this, but it wasn't. After all, she had erased herself from her parent's memories. She really has no home to return to.

"I was already expelled from school, what's the worst that could happen?"

"If that's the case, I'm going as well."

"Stop right there Ronald Weasley!" Molly immediately protested. "I am not losing another son right after losing one in the same day!"

"But mum!" Ron tried to reason.

"We appreciate it Ron," The twins offered a sad smile. "But the two of us wouldn't want you dead."

"I'll go in Ronald's stead." Percy declared, stepping forward.

"Percy Ignatius Weasely!" Molly stomped towards her other son.

"I know mum, but it's the only way I can atone." Percy tried to explain.

Molly and Arthur were speechless at Percy's words. Percy has all but disowned his own family for supporting Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, it caused a huge rift between them

"Percy, you don't have to do this." George grabbed his older brother's arm.

Percy offered one more smile towards his siblings before pulling back Ron and took his place.

"Mostly Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw huh." The hooded figure hummed. "I would have preferred people from the houses they're actually in."

The hooded figure looked at the fearful and hopeful faces of the audience.

"I suppose you four will do." The unknown person nodded and faced Harry Potter. "As Harry was considered to be sorted into Slytherin, he'll represent the house." They then faced the Granger." Hermoine, who showed Ravenclaw qualities despite being in Gryffindor, also showed Hufflepuff qualities being hardworking and very loyal, you'll represent the Hufflepuff house."

"For anyone here who recently lost someone who is an adult, I deeply apologize." The hooded figure faced the audience. "I'm only returning the child soldiers and innocent children who were lost in this war."

"I, Professor Minerva Mcgonagal, Hogwarts's interim headmistress, will do everything in my power to find the orphaned children a loving home, even those children who will return from the dead parentless. If unsuccessful, Hogwarts shall take them in." Professor Mcgonagal declared, raising her wand into the air. "So mote it be."

White lines spread throughout Professor Mcgonagal's body from her wand to her feet as the magical vow took effect.

"That…" The hooded person trailed off. "That wasn't necessary, but I appreciate the sentiment Professor Mcgonagal."

"It was for the greater good." The Headmistress quoted her friend.

Dumbledore's ghostly figure smiled at the headmistress's vow.

"Well then it's time." The unknown figure declared. "I would like you four to step forward."

Harry, Luna, Hermoine and Percy followed the figure's instruction.

The unknown figure waved the Elder Wand and wore the Cloak of Invisibility, making their whole body, sans the hands holding the resurrection stone and Elder Wand, vanish from everyone's sights.

"Nefesh Tuob, Reenervate"

A white light erupted from the Elder Wand, blinding everyone in the area.

---------

"Ugh, could someone tell me what the books I was reading were?" Fred groaned as he sat up. "My head hurts."

Everyone looked back at the castle and they saw some of the people who were declared dead were getting up, groaning and complaining about everything hurting with George Weasely leading the charge.

They immediately went to assist the resurrected people and gave them as much comfort as they can offer, considering the state of things.

"You were reading books about Divination." George gave out a chuckle as tears fell from his face.

"No wonder I dropped dead." Fred gave out a strained laugh.

"I reckon someone's waiting inside the room of requirement." The hooded figure stated as soon as he removed the Cloak of Invisibility from their person.

"I'll go check it out." Cho volunteered.

As soon as Cho left for the Room of Requirement Harry, Hermoine, Luna and Percy all fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

The unknown person used the chaos that ensued and disapparated away from everyone, leaving behind the Elder Wand and the Cloak of Invisibility.

----------

The reveal that Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Hermoine Granger and Percy Weasely were alive was a huge relief for everyone present, the survivors and resurrected alike. They knew it wasn't fair for the four of them to sacrifice themselves after surviving alongside the horrors Voldemort's war had started.

A lot of them felt like they should clear the water between the parties.

The Ravenclaws were resolute in asking Luna for forgiveness.

The Slytherins owe one Harry Potter a great deal of debt, despite the grief they caused the boy for his whole stay at Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuffs were guilty for blaming the Gryffindors, Harry especially, for the death of their beloved Cedric Diggory.

The Gryffindors greatly appreciated the bravery that Harry showed despite the dangers he faced.

It was in the middle of the night when Harry regained consciousness when he saw a white stag let itself inside from an open window of the castle's hospital wing.

"Hello Young Harry." A disembodied voice came from the prancing white stag.

----------

As soon as everyone was rested, the surviving adults, including the ex-death eaters, repaired anything and everything in the castle that was destroyed by the war.

One of the very first places to receive such treatment was the Hospital Wing, which was repaired in lieu of the many injuries and deaths incurred in the war.

A few other places given priority for repairs were the Great Hall, the Kitchen and the Hufflepuff Basement. Professor Mcgonagal made it a priority to repair the aforementioned rooms so people can have clean place to eat and a place to stay for the evening.

The Hufflepuffs played hosts to the people who didn't need to be in the Hospital Wing, which included the people who were resurrected.

Back in his bed, was one Cedric Diggory.

After Cedric's death, it became an unspoken rule between the Hufflepuffs not to occupy his bed as a sign of respect and tribute to him. Only the fifth, sixth, and seventh year students knew of the real reason why no one has claimed the bed for themselves.

The younger Hufflepuffs respected that rule.

It just showed how fitting they were sorted into the house of Helga Hufflepuff.

Loyal to the very core.

Cho Chang had found Cedric inside the Room of Requirement, alongside Crabbe and Goyle, who were tied up with ropes.

"They attacked me." Cedric justified his action. "I defended myself and ensured that they can't attack me again."

"You didn't have to justify yourself." Cho rolled her eyes.

"There a few more of us inside," Cedric informed the Ravenclaw. "I'm guessing their bodies weren't at the Great Hall when we were resurrected."

"It's good to see you again Ced." One of the seventh years greeted as soon as they saw Cedric walk towards the common room. "I've already sent an owl to some of your friends, although some of them may think that I'm delusional." He informed the Diggory. "Considering what happened after the Triwizard tournament and how Harry was slandered."

"People were in denial." Cedric shrugged. "That proved to be my downfall." He admitted.

"How so?" Another seventh year asked.

"It really was my fault when I didn't believe Harry when he said there was danger." Cedric sighed. "Sure I had my wand out, fat lot that got me." He chuckled.

"We really owe Potter an apology huh?" The male seventh year questioned.

"More than an apology." The female seventh year sagged.

"Not just us." Cho added as she stood beside Cedric. "The whole Wizarding Britain owes Harry Potter a great debt."

"Got that right." The Weasely twins skipped in the common room.

"Pure bloods"

"Half Bloods"

"-and Muggleborns"

"-owe Harriekins a great debt."

Fred and George Weasely immediately got back to finishing each other's thoughts and sentences as they skipped around the room.

"Fred, mum said you shouldn't be up." Ginny groaned.

"But it's"

"-boring"

"-being cooped up inside."

"You both should really listen to mum, at least this time," Bill admonished the twins. "Especially you Fred."

"I reckon mum's going to baby you until she sees fit." Charlie chuckled.

---------

A lot of things happened over the course of the day.

As soon as everyone was fed, the adults continued repairing the castle, from the Astronomy tower to the house towers. By the time lunch arrived, the only place left in shambles were the administration offices, staff rooms and classrooms.

Madam Pomfrey and the other Mediwitches of Hogwarts were busy attending to the injured and resurrected alike. This was the first time magic was used to resurrect dead people, as such they were very accommodating and careful when tending to their patients.

Madam Pomfrey did have rules when it comes to the Hospital Wing that not even the headmasters dare to disobey, she wasn't also heartless as to deny the Weasely family some time for Percy and Harry.

"Blimey Harry, you four didn't have to do that." Ron exclaimed.

"I was prepared Ron." Harry offered a sad smile. "I went to see Voldemort, ready to die by his hands."

"You do know we still love you, right Percy?" Molly questioned her son.

"I had to do it mum." Percy sat up. "I was anything but a supportive sibling or a loving son." He lamented. "I wasn't there when George lost an ear, when Death Eaters began hunting you, I should've done something."

"Regardless of what happened." Arthur smiled at his son. "I'm just glad that you're relatively unharmed."

"Just know that you're forgiven."

---------

Word got out that Lord Voldemort was finally killed, for good. As such, wizards and witches who weren't at the front lines, or were fearful of the dark wizard, arrived at Hogwarts to check on their children.

It wasn't just Wizards and Witches that arrived in school, a lot of muggles were also in the school. It may have been in violation of the Statute of Secrecy but they gave birth to magically to gifted children, thus warranting their attention especially considering the final battlegrounds was the school itself.

The muggles were able to arrive in school were thanks to wizards and witches who married into muggle families and offered the muggle parents to reunite with their children who were in Hogwarts.

They were also given some enchantments so they could see Hogwarts in all of its glory after they arrived.

Imagine the everyone's surprise when they realized that some 'muggles' were actually squibs as they were able to see the school even when they didn't have access to a specific enchantment.

"Dean!" Dean's mother rushed to her son.

"It's alright mum, I'm fine." Dean hugged his mother.

"Seamus."

"I'm fine dad." Seamus let himself be held by his parents.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you would be in the front lines just like I was." Seamus's dad hiccuped.

"Colin! Dennis!" Mr. Creevey rushed to his sons and engulfed them in a tight hug.

The witnesses who knew of the Creevey brothers winced considering what might've been had that unknown figure not appeared on Hogwarts's grounds.

Colin's body was recovered by Neville and Oliver while Dennis's body was lost.

Dennis was among the resurrected that Cho found inside the sooted Room of Requirement.

"We're fine Dad." Colin grinned at his father.

"We beat those Death Eaters that came after us." Dennis declared.

Neville winced at the declaration, knowing full well what happened to the both of them.

One of the touching reunions however was between the Diggorys.

Cedric's mother apparated in front of her son and sobbed on his chest while Amos held his family in a tight hug as if not wanting for them to let go.

Professor Sprout and Professor Mcgonagal looked at the Diggorys with a sad smile. They knew how hard the Diggorys tried to cope with the loss of their only son that they almost self-destructed from grief.

"If I may have your attention please." Professor Mcgonagal rang her goblet with a spoon.

Everyone quieted down and listened to the headmistress.

Professor Mcgonagal decided to tell everyone what actually happened. She summarized what happened at Hogwarts and how many had sacrificed their lives for the cause.

She also mentioned the resurrection that happened soon after and the students who were resurrected by the supposed Master of Death.

As the Interim Headmistress announced the names of those who were resurrected, the parents of those students, especially the Creeveys and Browns, held unto their children as tight as they could.

"I will now give the floor to Madame Pomfrey," Professor Mcgonagal declared. "She wants to make an announcement of her own."

"Thank you Headmistress." Madam Pomfrey stood beside Professor Mcgonagal. "An unknown spell was used to resurrect the fallen students of Hogwarts, to make sure things are going as they should, I would humbly request for you to leave your children under our care and have them checked by St. Mungo's Mediwitches."

Murmurs erupted amongst everyone in the great hall.

The parents weren't sure how to process the request. They don't want to be separated with their children, knowing about the fact that they died in the first place.

"I assure you the process is harmless." Madam Pomfrey assured everyone. "We just want to make sure if all of their injuries, fatal or otherwise, have been properly healed due to the resurrection that happened."

Every parent looked at each other.

When one Amos Diggory voiced out.

"We agree."

Everyone looked at the Diggorys.

"There might be side effects to this spell, we've waited this long to be with them what's a day more." Mrs. Diggory reasoned out.

"We do have one request." Amos stated.

"We request an army of aurors into the school."

"Consider it done." Auror Shacklebolt nodded.

---------

Despite the assurances, most muggle parents didn't leave the school, if they did they were married to a witch or wizard.

In lieu of this development, Professor Mcgonagal had the Gryffindors play hosts towards the muggles who didn't leave the school as their children rested inside Hufflepuff's dormitories.

Earlier in the afternoon, the staff from St. Mungos arrived and gave diagnostic checkups unto the resurrected while the mediwitches turned their attention to the minor injuries that people had incurred during the war.

Some of the adults busied themselves to properly giving care to the deceased. They relocated the corpses by the lawn by the Quidditch Pitch.

That night, before the witches and wizard vacated the school premises, they paid respects for the deceased. Witches and Wizards raised their wands while the muggles simply bowed their heads in respect.

Madam Pomfrey had Harry, Hermoine, Luna and Percy give their respects by the window of the Hospital Wing and raised their respective wands. She had ordered for their bed rest once all four of them woke up.

Unbeknownst to everyone in attendance, someone pointed a wand at the people by the Quidditch Pitch. A green orb of light appeared on the figure's wand.

"Falsa Memoriae"

----------

As the sun rose anew, everyone was conversing happily by the Great Hall as they are breakfast.

"If I may have everyone's attention please." The Headmistress rang her goblet.

Everyone turned their attention to the interim Headmistress.

"It is my utmost pleasure to announce the full recovery of four heroes who offered themselves as sacrifices for the kidnapped students of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts thanks you for your services Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Hermoine Granger and Percy Weasely."

The four aforementioned persons walked towards the Headmistress's side.

"From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you four for rescuing our kidnapped children." Amos Diggory announced.

"I don't know what I would've done if my boys died in the war." Mr. Creevey sobbed. "It's one thing to fight in a war, it's another thing to offer yourselves in exchange for prisoners of war."

"I will say this, I didn't offer myself for selfless reasons," Percy stepped forward. "As soon as I got word that one of my younger brothers was taken and an exchange was necessary, I immediately offered myself."

Molly and Arthur held each other tightly as they listened to their estranged son's speech. The twins on the other hand emulated their parents' actions, feeling indebted to the brother they've been bitter towards.

"We owe you one Percy!"

"I intend to cash in on that debt, just you wait." Percy grinned.

"I was a muggleborn witch, during this war I obliviated my parents to keep them safe from the Dark Wizard." Hermoine admitted. "I was already expelled for being a muggleborn, nothing worse could happen."

"Blimey, you need to sort your priorities Hermoine." Ron snorted.

Hermoine simply smiled and rolled her eyes at the comment.

"On the night my parents were killed by Voldemort." Harry stepped forward. "My mother placed a sacrificial protection spell on me, letting me survive the killing curse for the first time. Most of my mentors figured that my death could spell his destruction, so I willingly sacrificed myself to end the war once and for all."

"I simply wanted to meet death and see if they are personable." Luna offered her reasons.

"Good old Luna Lovegood." Ginny chuckled.

"Regardless of your reasons." Auror Shacklebolt stood up. "We are all thankful for your sacrifice and that we avoided young casualties in this war."

----------

"When the time comes Harry, everyone will forget about the resurrection spell. It'd spell disaster if a spell as powerful as that was made public. Another war might ensue if this got out even if the Elder Wand's allegiances disappear with me.

To avoid such catastrophe from ever happening, everyone will need to forget about the deaths.

Hopefully in your future, nothing like the Cursed Child would ever happen."

The prancing stag faded from existence.

Another ethereal stag appeared from the window as soon as the first one faded.

"Be thankful for one Percy Weasely, his presence with the four of you made was how Fred Weasely managed to rejoin the land of the living."

The second stag promptly disappeared as soon as the message was delivered.

[la-fille-en-aiguilles]

The Beautiful & Damned (7/7)

Female Reader x Young!Remus Lupin | Female Reader x Young!Sirius Black

Chapter 7 - FINALE: The Beautiful & Damned 

A/N: Yeah, well, this one took me forever to finish. But it is here, and I hope you are going to like it, especially those who have a soft spot for Sirius Orion Black. I didn’t really have to think long about the name of the series when I started writing it. It just sorta came to me (thank you Fitzgerald, I owe you one). The reader and Remus are both beautiful and damned in their own way (reader because her beauty makes her seem so inapproachable, and Remus because he doesn’t even realise that he is, in fact, beautiful). This final chapter is Sirius-Reader-friendship centered.

Enjoy x

New to the series? - Accio Chapter 1: The Golden Couple - Accio Chapter 2: No, Definitely - Accio Chapter 3: Misread - Accio Chapter 4: Bravado Falls - Accio Chapter 5: Marauders to the Rescue - Accio Chapter 6: Selfness & Camaraderie That Know No Bounds

It was a dull October evening, with rain hanging close overhead - such a striking contrast to the way you felt, it seemed unreal. Constantly smiling to yourself and even going as far as humming quietly the Double Double Toil & Trouble under your breath, you motioned for the last batch of the squeaky clean cauldrons to jump into the armoir. You swore you could almost hear them purr in pleasure, having been scrubbed spotless for the past week.  

With a content sigh, you closed the heavy wooden door and stood still. You listened carefully for any sound of activity, and having identified none, moved towards the exit from Slughorn’s new class - apparently, the dungeons proved to be not as fancy as professor’s posh persona deserved. Sirius and you weren’t the ones to complain - you’d trade dungeons for an actual class with actual windows any day. 

As you stepped outside, you realized the blanket of darkness and stars, looking like small round-like windows to heaven, had already covered the sky entirely. With his velvety eyes shining bright, Sirius sat on the window sill with his legs kicking the night air. Not able to suppress a smile, you went on to join him. 

“Oh hey there, Mrs. Moony”, Padfoot teased you, making place for you to sit next to him.  “How did the last of your detention go?”

“You mean our detention, Black? Very productive, no thanks to you,” you answered sarcastically, slapping him lightly on the chest. He chuckled softly, looking back at the starry sky. 

You followed his gaze, admiring the midnight blue canvas with light, shimmering patches, clusters of faint light. The constellations whispered their stories in a language you couldn’t understand, revealing the secrets of the universe to anyone who could decode their cool, hushed conversations. 

You sat silent for a while, you couldn’t tell for how long exactly. Resting your head on Padfoot’s shoulder, you felt his hand dance its way across yours back, bringing you closer to him.

“Me being with Moony changes nothing, you know that, right, Sirius?” you whispered barely audibly, because this seemed like a perfect time to voice what’d been gnawing at the corners of your mind since that scene with Parkinson in the Great Hall. “You will always be the bestest friend of mine”. 

You felt, more than heard him chuckle once again, his shoulders and his chest vibrating, producing the warmest of sounds. 

“Uh-huh, sure, whatever you say, Mrs. Moony”, he brushed your words off with such light-heartedness, you knew he wasn’t convinced. 

“I’m serious, Pads,” lifting your head for a moment, you turned to face him, with the most solemn expression you could manage. 

Turning his head so he could face you too, Sirius nodded slowly, releasing his bottom lip from under his pearly teeth. 

“Yeah, so am I”. 

You stayed still for a moment, staring at each other, before, as if by command, both of you chortled at his stupid pun. 

Once you regained your breaths, trying your best not to burst out laughing at the mere sight of each other’s face, you made an effort to switch to a more thoughtful tone. 

“I will always be there for you, I want you to know that,” you said, looking straight ahead into the sparkling sky. “No matter what”. 

He blew a raspberry at your words, mocking your determination. You felt his humorous gaze on you but refused to rise to the bait, refusing him the reaction he hoped to entice from you. 

“Sure you will,” after his weak attempts to make you smile had failed, he finally said almost indifferently. 

Biting your tongue in order not to say something you wouldn’t mean, and barely keeping the urge to shake the stubbornness out of him, you narrowed your eyes.

“Fine,” you uttered, slapping both of your hands on your thighs. “Try me”. 

An incredulous expression showed on Padfoot’s face as he considered your proposition. He frowned a bit next, weighing his options. 

“Okay,” he surrendered, probably out of sheer curiosity. “So what you’re saying you’d follow me to a party in Slytherin Dungeons after what happened last week?”

Your eyes went wide at his choice of venue, and he smirked, obviously pleased by your reaction, wanting nothing more than to prove a point. 

It’s like he didn’t know what kind of person he was dealing with here. 

“In a heartbeat,” you reacted straight away, challenge ringing in your voice. “But let’s face it, you’ll never step a foot in Slytherin Common Room.”

“Good point,” Sirius laughed softly, winking at you. “Well, what about… a nightly detention in the Forbidden Forest?”

You raised an eyebrow at his question. 

“Honestly, Sirius, is that all you’ve got?” you teased him. “Been that, done that. Plus, I saved your ass from a nasty little troll, I’ll have you remember, you bloody owe me!”

“Shouldn’t have brought this one up,” Sirius admitted, earning another slap across the chest from you. “Okay, I’m upping my game. Ready?” He smiled smugly at you. “What about the Shrieking Shack?”

You stared at him, taken aback just a tad. 

“The Shrieking Shack?” You repeated in disbelief. “What business can you possibly have there?” 

“You’ll know soon enough, I suppose”, his smile getting more and more secretive to a point where you were dying of curiosity but you wouldn’t make him happy by showing it. Swallowing hundreds of questions threatening to fall of your tongue, you continued: 

“Sure, why not. I’m up for anything that’ll allow me to make fun of your ass for getting scared shitless”. 

“Keep on dreaming, princess”, Sirius tsked at you, making you roll your eyes at the nickname. 

“You want scary, princess?” He repeated deliberately, just to watch you squirm in annoyance. “Would you follow me to Azkaban then?”

The night fell completely silent and still, Padfoot’s question making your eyes pop. You lifted your head off his shoulder again, staring him down as if he had gone mental. 

“Excuse me?” you finally managed. “What kind of a stupid question is that?”

“Aha!” the victorious notes in Sirius’ outburst broke you out of the stupor somewhat, wicked smile crooking his lips. “Not so certain anymore, are we?”

Clenching your hands into fists, you took a good look at this idiot you loved so damn much before you destroyed him for thinking what he just voiced. 

“Azkaban?... Peachy!” you exploded. “Perfect even! That should be fun! You can bet your ass I’ll book a solitary right next to your stupid ass!”

You expected Sirius to laugh out loud at your reaction, to keep the fire burning, so to speak. He gave you a long look instead, his face unreadable. You refused to go on with your monologue, and frankly, you weren’t sure you were able to without crying, for some reason. Something lit up in Sirius’ grey eyes: sun chasing the fog away. 

Still silent, Padfoot put on of his hands on your shoulders and brushed his lips across your forehead. Now he understood. 

Understanding did something truly wonderful to Sirius’ body and soul. Every inch of him, and especially his eyes glowed a soft milky golden colour; looking at him now, you thought that never before he belonged in the sky among the stars as much. Love turned Sirius Orion Black into a work of art. 

“For the record, you are never going to Azkaban,” he suddenly said in a croaky voice. “Not on my watch”. 

The concern lacing his voice made you beam at him.

“You and James better be careful with your pranking then,” you winked at him. “Avoid killing somebody, okay? If it ain’t with love and kindness…”

Before you fully realised the reminder that your words carried for the ever-forgetful Sirius Black, they were already out in the open. You knew what was coming next. 

“Hold on for a sec there, Siren,” Sirius’ grin was growing wider with each passing second. “Are you saying that Slughorn did tell you how to brew Amorentia?!” Watching you search for words, he shrieked, “I knew it! I bloody knew it!”

Half regretful, half amused, you knew that this was yet another time when the fate of one Sirius Black and possibly the entire Wizarding World depended on your ability to talk the former down. 

“Sirius, no.” 

“Sirius, yes!…” 

Thank you so much for reading!

My Beautiful Taglist (please, hit me up should you want to be tagged or untagged): @youkn0wn0thingjonsnow, @yuukiahim, @xapham, @spunkypatterns,  @jackie-houston, @justducky0423, @zakthedrak, @marauder–harder, @davros2004, @firefurr, @heyjess-marie, @kapolisradomthoughts

[serenefreakgeekao3]

🌈; 🌕+☀️male ships please? (I'm Slytherin and a girl btw) I have GAD, MaDD and obsessive tendencies so I have some issues. I am opinionated and adore debate, writing/reading, and photography. I love art museums, too. I'm really sensitive and tend to lash out, but I'm really empathetic and always feel bad. Im a very introverted person as a result, and focus alot on grades. I have a sense of humor, though. Also I can't choose between an edgy or soft style so I'm always changing.

A/N: I share your nuerodivergent brain symptoms, so I relate to this pretty well. I hope this works out! And I hope you're doing well!

I SHIP YOU WITH:

🌕Remus Lupin

You are a fairly private and shy person, so you typically didn't branch out from your few friends. However, sometimes your brain would get to you, and you'd be in a crowded hall or near a group of people who were laughing, and you'd feel your body begin to freak out. One of these times, you had managed to quickly dash into a nearby empty room, breathing quickly with tears in your eyes.

When the door opened, your heart practically stopped, but it was only one kind boy entering quickly, shutting the door behind him. You both stared at each other for a moment before he reaching for his inside pocket, pulling out some chocolate. "This helps me, usually." You thanked him, reaching for the chocolate and eating it slowly as he sat next to you on the floor, staring at the opposite wall, quite like you. After a few moments he whispered that you could talk if you wanted to- it helps sometimes- and you nodded your understanding.

Once you felt yourself calm enough, you began apologizing- which he quickly debunked- and explained that crowds make you uncomfortable, and how your paranoid brain told you people were making fun of you, even if you knew rationally that hadn't been true.

Remus nodded, glancing at you with a soft smile before reaching over to pat your shoulder. "I understand those fears. Not to the extent you do, of course, but I have some slight idea."

He then changed the subject, speaking about how he had seen you in one of his classes before, and had seen you reading and had always wanted to ask what it was. You both began discussing your favourite books, and quickly delved into other subjects as well. After awhile, you realize you're feeling completely better, and you thank him for the help.

"It was no problem at all, I enjoy your company. Maybe we could hang out again soon?" You both promised to meet back up in the library, and it became a frequent occurence. Eventually, Remus took to walking you through the halls to helps with your social anxiety, and you were slowly introduced to his best friends that he always spoke about.

Remus was never one much for debate, instead listening and adapting his opinions based on facts he hears. However, once you met both James and Sirius, they shared your affinity for debate, and you shared lengthy conversations about various topics. Remus was very obviously pleased that you all got along great, and you were happy to finally find people to be around that didnt drain you.

It was after you all graduated Hogwarts together that Remus finally told you he was a werewolf. You had known something was up, considering he disappeared every month, but you hadn't been too worried about it. When he told you, you decided to research and look up everything you could about them to better understand your friend. Once Remus realized that you weren't going to run away scared, he finally asked you on your first date. Romantic feelings began blooming over time, and love was slow but sure.

☀️Neville Longbottom

You knew of Neville Longbottom, sure. Everyone had heard of him, or had seen him stumbling through the halls as a kid or calling for his frog he had lost sometimes. It wasnt until seventh year when the Death Eaters had taken over Hogwarts that you had /noticed/ him. He was brave- stupidly brave- and would stand up for justice and take the punishments himself if it was for the younger years. Seeing him volunteer to take a Crucio so that a first year hufflepuff didn't have to made you simultaneously hurt inside, but feeling an overwhelming need to help him.

You stood up for him when you could, when no one was paying attention. If there were "prefects" chasing him, you'd distract them with a spell or misdirect them, causing them to lose him. You made sure that if the Curcio was going on a little too long that you'd cause some kind of disruption somewhere else, making the attacker direct their attention somewhere else.

But of course, someone was bound to notice. It was unfortunate that it happened to be one of the Carrows. While Neville was being Crucio'd, for much too long a time, you glanced around trying to find something you could use. Seeing a trophy case in the next hall, you pointed your wand to it and shattered the glass, quickly stowing your wand away. That was a common trick of yours, one that worked the most often. And indeed, it distracted the attacker, who stopped the Crucio and turned to run into the hallway.

You quickly rushed toward Neville, helping him to stand and whispering quickly that you needed to get out of there. That was before you suddenly were struck in the back, and your entire body lit up in pain. You screamed and fell, Neville catching you and laying you down. You could barely pay attention to your surroundings, but you heard him yelling and screaming to leave you alone, to punish him instead. But the pain kept on. Until it didn't anymore.

Glancing back, still sore and tired, you breathed deeply and noticed Neville standing over an unconscious body. His knuckles were bloodied and he was heaving, but he quickly rushed to you and helped you up, pulling you to a nearby classroom.

"I had noticed you were helping me," He had said, eventually, after making sure you had drank water and were feeling better. "I thought it wasn't just me at first, that you just happened to do that. But at the same time, I guess anytime I'm around that injustice, it's always me stepping up loudly. So it's always me you're helping." Neville laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "I do have to thank you though. If it hadn't been for you, I'd probably be dead by now."

From then on, the two of you looked out for each other closely, but didn't spend too much time close together. Showing the Death Eaters that you cared for one another would only end in pain.

Flash forward, and /somehow/ you both had survived the war. It was months later, and Hogwarts was just starting up again. McGonagall had invited you back to repeat your seventh year, and you agreed knowing that you'd need the credits for your future. Then, you had seen Neville again.

At first you were too shy to approach him. You hadn't actually talked with him much the year before, perhaps you had been imagining the close relationship you thought the two of you had? But you couldn't stop yourself from meeting his gaze everytime you entered a room, smiling and nodding to each other.

It was Neville who finally approached you, a month later. He was shy, and it was so adorable. He asked if you'd go to Hogsmeade with him, and you agreed immediately. From then on, you two were hardly ever separated, learning about each other more and more each day. You never spoke of seventh year unless it was during the night, in hushed voices, speaking of fears of losing your own life or his, fears that he shared. He held you close, tightly in his arms, and promised to never let you go.

[jiemba]

Sanvers Week Day 4 - Hogwarts

Another rush job. Many apologies! Hope you enjoy nonetheless.

As soon as Gertrude swooped through the Great Hall and dropped a howler on her plate, Alex knew immediately who it was from, the dread of its message like a bludger to the gut. “Alex, you have to open it.” “Look, it’s already twitching.” “Open it, hurry  up!” There was no avoiding it. Almost as red as the envelope itself, Alex felt every eye in the room on her as she tore it open like a wound. “ALEXANDRA DANVERS! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, LETTING YOUR SISTER DO THIS? SHE IS 14 YEARS OLD. I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU GOT HER INTO THIS BUT YOU’VE PROVEN ONCE AGAIN THAT YOU’RE CLEARLY NOT RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO LOOK AFTER. WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER SAY IF HE WERE HERE RIGHT N-” That’s when Alex stopped listening. Shoving books into her bag, she glared across the room to where Kara was sitting at the Griffindor table, mouth hanging open. “Thanks,” she snarled. “Of course I’m getting blamed for this.”

“Alex, I didn’t do it! I swear!” “Save it, Kara,” she muttered, storming out of the room, her mother still screaming. In the end, it was Maggie who followed. “Danvers! Hey Danvers, wait up.” Alex let herself slow, trying to blink away the tears in her eyes. “This is so typical,” she scoffed. “Of course it’s not enough that I’m in the stupid Triwizard Tournament, my sister just had to go and get herself thrown into it too.” “Come on, Kara couldn’t have gotten her name in the cup by herself.” “I know. But everyone thinks I’m the one who helped her.” “Hey,” Maggie murmured, stepping a little closer. “I believe you. The magic needed to outsmart the cup is way beyond the levels of a sixth year. No offense.” Alex smirked. “None taken.” “Besides,” Maggie continued, her voice low. “I think looking after her in the competition’s the least of your problems, Danvers. She’s just a kid – a smart one, but… Whoever did this probably wants to see her hurt.” Alex sighed, knowing Maggie was too smart to be lied to. “The school’s worried about that too,” she confessed. “They’ve got the Ministry working to try and find out what happened.”

“Well I’ll do my best to help. You just focus on the challenges, get the two of you through them safely. I’ll be in the background seeing what I can scope out. Same with James and Winn. We’ll keep her safe together, Alex. I promise.” When Alex looked at Maggie, she felt her whole chest open up, a weight off her shoulders. “Thank you.” A clattering of boots on stone sounded down the hallway, a group of Slytherins passing in a way that made sure their presence was known. “A prefect should be more careful who they associate with, Danvers,” a fourth year spat in her direction, all his friends laughing. “Who I associate with is none of your -” “Alex, forget it. They’re not worth it,” Maggie told her, her hand gently hooking around Alex’s elbow as she watched them go. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t OK.” “Why are you in that house anyway? You could probably suit Ravenclaw.” “Slytherins aren’t all bad,” Alex sighed. “The house stands for ambition and resourcefulness and -” “Yeah yeah, I know. All things that’ll help you survive the Triwizard Tournament, right?” As she spoke, she gave Alex a reassuring smile, tugging her Hufflepuff scarf tighter around herself. The winter had come early this year, frost already covering the common room windows in the mornings. “Yeah,” Alex chuckled wryly. “But first I have to survive my mom.”

It truly was a team effort – James sneaking around the grounds with his camera, stealing photos of whatever he could; Winn designing flame resistant under-clothes as soon as they deduced that there were dragons in the first challenge; Maggie helping the girls learn all her best defence charms. Together, they stayed up late in the Slytherin Prefect’s Lounge whenever Alex could sneak them in, drawing out plans, anticipating every snare. But when they aced the first challenge, when Rita Skeeter wrote a dozen articles portraying Kara as an innocent prodigy and Alex as her bitter sibling, Kara’s owl dropped her pies from home, cards that read You’re being so brave, sweetie and Keep trying your hardest, I’m so proud of you. Gertrude only ever brought Alex howlers. She never cried in the Great Hall. Never in the common room, in front of the other Slytherins. But somehow, Maggie always found her – in the library, in the bathroom, on the bridge – and sat with her until it passed. Now, it seemed, it was Alex’s turn. Shaking the frost from her feet, Alex bounded up the stairs to the library, bag full of chocolate frogs and every flavour beans and bottled butterbeer for her sister. “Hey Kara, I got you – oh hi, Maggie.” “Hey,” Maggie replied, barely looking up from her textbook. “We’ve been researching mer-people, for the next challenge,” Kara explained. “Max Lord’s still telling everyone it’s banshees, but he doesn’t know you cracked the egg message underwater.” “Max Lord’s an idiot,” Maggie muttered, scribbling away on her parchment. “The clue would never be that obvious.” Sensing her tone, Alex sat carefully at their desk. “I didn’t see you in Hogsmead today.” “I had a lot to do.” “Oh. Well thanks for helping Kara. I really appreciate it.” “Anything to help a Danvers.” Kara smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “Do you want some snacks? Alex always gets tonnes.” “Yeah, because you eat like a troll.” A slight chuckle escaped Maggie, but she still shook her head. “I’m OK, really.” “Come on,” Alex insisted, placing the bag discreetly on the table so they didn’t lose house points from the librarian. “It’ll help us study.” When Maggie relented after a moment, smiling softly, Alex saw that her eyes were a little red around the edges, watching her cautiously pop a bean into her mouth, exhaling in relief. “Tiramisu. Thank God.” Later, when Alex walked Kara back to her common room, her sister nudged her. “She couldn’t get a permission form from her parents,” Kara confessed, her voice low so the paintings wouldn’t hear. “I think… Alex, I think they don’t like her.”

The night before the second tournament challenge, Alex knew there was no hope of sleep. She’d prepared Kara as much as she could, snuck her some gillyweed from the herbology storeroom, and there was nothing left to do but count down the seconds until the whole damn tournament was over. No more howlers. No more expectations. No more fame and glory she never wanted. But she didn’t expect to find Maggie in the Great Hall, lying on a table, staring at the sky above. “Hey,” she called out to her, stomach clenching at the way Maggie flinched and scrambled up, breathing a sigh of relief seeing that it was only her. “You OK?” “Fine,” she said shortly. “Shouldn’t you be studying for a challenge or something?” Alex exhaled, glanced up at the roof. “The stars help me think. Reminds me of home.” Setting her books down on the seat, she climbed onto the table with Maggie, laying down and waiting for the girl to join her, when she was ready. Finally, Maggie swallowed, settled. “I’m guessing you heard.” “Heard what?” “Come on, Danvers. Your Slytherin buddies weren’t gossiping about it in the common room?” Alex pushed herself up on an elbow. “What happened?” For a moment, the only sound in the room was Maggie exhaling. “I asked Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball.” “Oh,” Alex stammered, her face starting to blush. “I – I didn’t know you…” “Yeah. It didn’t go well.” “Maggie…I’m so sorry.” “I don’t know what I expected. I figured half the kids here already hated me. My parents could come to terms with me being a witch but decided they didn’t want me back home after they found out about the last girl I liked, so what was there to lose?” “God, I had no idea…” “It’s whatever. Professor M’orzz helped me get a scholarship so I can stay, so…” She sighed, blinked tears from her eyes. “I guess being a non-white mudblood wasn’t hard enough, huh?” Alex tried to keep herself from squirming. “You shouldn’t call yourself that.” “Why?” “It’s… It’s a horrible word.” “Only because someone made it a horrible word. That’s why I call myself a mudblood, call myself queer. If I take the words back, they’re mine. I decide what they mean. I can be those things and still be proud. You know?” Alex didn’t quite understand, but she nodded slowly, trying to support her friend. “I guess. I’d never really thought about it like that.” She sighed, settling back down with Maggie. “I’m proud of you - for coming out at school, after everything. That was really brave.” Maggie laughed dryly. “A Triwizard champion calling me brave. You getting soft on me?” “No,” Alex laughed. For a moment they lay together in silence, watching a star shoot across the sky. “Though I have to say, you have good taste. Half the school’s chasing Fleur. She’s really pretty.” Maggie tilted her head, squinted a little at Alex. “What?” “Nothing, I just…think I read you wrong.” Alex blinked. “What do you mean?” “I didn’t know you were into girls.” “I’m not,” Alex said quickly, heat rising in her face. “I mean no offense, Maggie -” “No, I’m sorry - that was way too forward of me. Forget it,” Maggie replied, shrugging it off. “Look, we shouldn’t even be talking about me anyway, you have a big day tomorrow. You’re gonna ace it. You both will.” Alex’s heart swelled with the confidence Maggie had in her – that she lacked in herself. “You’ll be watching, right?” When she smiled, it was like the stars in the ceiling shone a little brighter. “Cross my heart.” “Miss Sawyer?” They both sat up quickly, each wrenched from their gaze on the other, seeing Professor M’orzz walking briskly towards them. “Could we speak in my office, please?” “Yes, professor,” Maggie answered, quickly turning back to Alex as she scrambled off the table and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ll see you after the challenge, OK? You’re gonna do great.” Professor M’orzz smiled warmly at her as Maggie collected her things. “Yes, good luck tomorrow, Miss Danvers. You should get some rest. Even prefects shouldn’t be up this late.” “Thank you, Professor. I’ll go up soon.” But when they left, all Alex could do was lift her eyes to the stars, trying to convince herself that the tournament was the reason her heart was pounding.

When they first stood on the platform in the middle of the lake, Professor J’onzz had told the champions that something had been taken from them – a treasure. Their task was simply to bring it back. It sounded simple. But nothing in the tournament ever was. Alex was barely listening, trying almost telepathically to reassure her little sister, the skin of the girl’s neck already starting to raise from the gillyweed, and when Alex first dove into the water, the first thing she felt, away from the screaming crowds, was relief. She’d never expected, down in the deep, to see Maggie among the reeds, bound and limp, hair splayed around her head. Next to her were James and two other kids she didn’t recognize. She felt Maggie’s name escape her chest in a desperate rush, her hands cupping the girl’s face. She was warm. But she wasn’t waking up. Alex spun around. Again. Again. Kara. She needed to find Kara. She inflated her bubble-head charm a little further, scanning the water. Finally her sister arrived, swimming over to help untie James, and Alex felt like she’d released her first real breath since the start of the challenge. “Go,” she tried to scream to her sister, giving James a mighty shove upward to help them get started before swimming back to Maggie. Next to her, Krum was already untying another girl. But they were running out of time, and Fleur was nowhere, nowhere, nowhere – the remaining chained young girl bobbing, lifeless, in the dark. Alex couldn’t leave her down there. Only minutes to go, she scrambled to untie both girls and drag them to the surface, blasting mer-people as she went, her chest crying out for air, her lungs shredding. She pushed the girls upward, saw them wake and swim as soon as they found air, and fought the mer-people as hard as she could, charming herself to the surface. “Alex!” someone screamed as her body slammed into the deck, and Kara crashed straight into her. She choked on air, grasping her sister tight. “I’m sorry,” the girl cried. “I tried to go back in the help you but they wouldn’t let me.” “You did the right thing,” Alex choked, blinking, steadying herself against the floor. “Maggie…” “Right here, Danvers.” She felt a hand on her back, and closed her eyes a moment. She was breathing. They were all breathing. Somewhere off, a girl was speaking frantic French. Closer. Then there were two hands grasping her face, Fleur weeping before her eyes. “You saved my sister, even though she wasn’t yours to save. Thank you, thank you,” she told Alex desperately, punctuating her words with kisses on each cheek. “And you! You helped!” she exclaimed, doing the same to Maggie. Both girls glanced at each other in the wake of that tornado, cheeks pink, and burst out laughing. “Don’t say I never do anything for you,” Alex joked. But Maggie shook her head, knowing all along that Fleur was never the girl she wanted to kiss. Not really. She crawled over to where Alex was still sitting on the floor, wrapped her arms around her tight. “Thank you for not letting me go,” she murmured against her shoulder. Alex smiled into her skin. “Never,” she replied, letting herself breathe – beside her, her sister, and in her arms, her treasure.

Since that day, Alex hadn’t been able to sleep through the night. At first she tried to convince herself that it was the tournament, but the truth edged in on her slowly, like ice over the lake, and when she was walking around the grounds with Maggie as she laughed about something or other, crumbs of snow in her hair, she simply couldn’t wait anymore. “Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?” Stopping in her tracks, Maggie’s eyes were wide. “What?” “Go to the ball with me?” she tried again, her voice and stance unsteady. “Please?” But Maggie’s eyes filled with tears, her head shook without permission, her lip trembled. “Is this some kind of joke?” “What? No!” “You heard your Slytherin buddies laughing behind my back and thought it’d be funny to stick me up on the night, is that it? Or you feel sorry for me? After Fleur?” “No, that’s not -” “God, Alex, enough. I confided in you, I thought… Everyone knows you’ll take Max Lord or someone like that. Someone from a good wizarding family, someone who -” “Maggie, none of that matters to me.” “Well, it matters to your mom. And that matters to you. Face it, Alex, you were never gonna go with me,” Maggie spat, the pain in her voice raw now. “Besides, you’re not even into girls. And even if you were, why would you choose me, when you’re perfect Alex Danvers, Triwizard champion, Slytherin prefect? You could have anyone, and I’m just -” “Maggie, stop,” Alex pleaded, trying to reach for her, to stop her from turning away. “Even if I could have anyone, I’d still want to go with you.” But Maggie’s face crumpled with her voice, the words “I don’t believe you” coming out in a strangled whimper, before she turned on her heels and ran.

The owlery was where she found her. Avoided by most students, the farm-like smell always reminded Maggie of home – if she could even call it home anymore. And owls, it seemed, were way less judgmental than people. When Alex called her name, she didn’t turn her face, didn’t even glance up. “Just leave me, Danvers.” “You’re my friend,” Alex insisted. “I want know if you’re OK.” Maggie turned, eyes red, hard around the edges. “You wanna know?” Alex shrugged in exasperation. “Yeah.” “Well I’m not OK, Alex. I’m not OK because I’ve liked you since we had Defence Against the Dark Arts together in fourth year, and this whole time I thought you could never like me back. But now you’re saying you do, and it’s too good to be true, and your mom will never let this happen -” “I don’t care what my mom says,” Alex insisted, taking her hand and drawing her out to the balcony, where it was quieter. “She’s already mad even when I’m perfect. So I may as well be who I am. Kiss the girl I want to kiss.” “Alex, you don’t get it,” Maggie wept. “My parents completely disowned me. If that happened to you, because of me, I don’t know what I’d do, I’d -” “Maggie, shhh….” she soothed her, taking her face in her hands, snow falling around them. “It’s gonna be OK. She’ll be mad, but she needs me to help with Kara too much to get rid of me. I’m over it. I’ve spend my whole life trying to be everything she wants, spent this whole year risking my life in a competition I don’t want to be a part of. I just want you, Maggie,” she said desperately, tears freely tumbling down her own cheeks now. “God, Maggie, I just want you.” It was Maggie who let the space between them shrink down to zero, brushing her lips against Alex’s in a kiss she’d never thought she’d have. Alex gasped against her mouth, and she was all warmth, all light, as they brushed the tears from each other’s cheeks. Alex pulled back a little, eyes still closed for a moment. “So you’re saying you want to go with me,” she said, making Maggie laugh. “Coz that’s what I got.” She sighed. “We still need to talk about if you’re really ready for your mom to know,” Maggie admitted, but then she smiled, eyes bright. “But of course I want to, Danvers.” A laugh broke out of Alex’s chest, and she shook her head a little, eyes shining. “Enough about my mom for now. Just let me kiss the girl I want to kiss.” She pressed her lips to Maggie’s cheek, her forehead, her nose, and when they kissed again, they knew no matter what happened next, they would always have a home in the castle. A home in each other.

[marauderingbad-blog]

One Was Gold

A Chronology Fic of Lily and Severus’ friendship.

PART 1 OF ?

Read the Full Story on AO3  http://archiveofourown.org/works/11690688/chapters/26319129

Lily could still hear the two obnoxious black-haired boys laughing even after she’d slammed the compartment door.

“What enormous gits they must be to get into it with someone they don’t even know on the first day!” Lily snapped to Severus, hoping to make herself loud enough so that they could still hear her. The boys just continued laughing. Lily rolled her eyes. “Come on, Severus, we’ll find an empty compartment,” she muttered, walking briskly down the train as if she owned it.

Lily didn’t need to tell Severus twice. He was fuming. Perhaps he wasn’t brawny, but who were they to say he wasn’t brainy? He smarted from the remark more than he should have, perhaps--but he would show them, as soon as he had the chance.

As Severus stewed, Lily pressed the heel of her palms to each eye in turn, wiping a new set of tears away. Lily knew this wasn’t about those two idiots, but the provocation hadn’t done much to calm her already prickly nerves--she still felt raw over Petunia, having not yet cried all of that sadness out. They had never fought like this before, in a way that felt serious, like it actually meant something.

Once they’d entered their new compartment, Lily let out a huge, frustrated sigh, and continued with the train of thought she’d been on before those dreadful boys interrupted. “I’m sorry to be like this today, and I promise I’ll stop talking about it, it’s just--I’m not going to get a chance to fix things with Tuney until Christmas. Mum and Dad always say not to go to bed angry at each other, and now she’s angry with me, and I won’t see her for months!”

Lily collapsed into the seat with a huff, folding her arms over her chest. She looked at Severus and then back out the window. “I don’t get what she’s so angry for, either. Sure, our parents are happy for me and proud of me, but they’re always happy and proud of both of us, for whatever we do. It’s not like I’m their favorite, or something ridiculous like that, they love us both equally, and she knows that!”

Severus’ fists unclenched as he began to realize that Lily was upset, truly upset--not just peeved by those two imbeciles (as he surely still was). He took his seat in the vacant compartment across from Lily, a bit more modestly than she had. He listened to her intently and patiently as always--and bit his tongue. Severus had made the mistake of articulating his thoughts about Petunia in the past. Lily had never exactly found his opinion on this particular topic to be savory, to say the least.

He carefully considered the direction of this conversation, not wanting to further upset her.

“You’ve done all you can, you know that,” he replied gently before turning to watch the roaring fields pass by outside the window. Severus couldn’t mask his thoughtful countenance, however.

“I guess so,” she sighed. “Maybe we could have included her more…” Lily thought, then shook her head. “But I always invited her, and she always said no, so,” Lily shrugged. Of course, she understood that part of what Petunia wanted was for Lily to not be friends with Severus at all, but their friendship was not something she was willing to give up, nor did she think it was in any way right or fair or nice for Petunia to expect that of her.

“Anyway. Let’s change the subject,” she said. “Why do you like Slytherin best?”

Severus internally applauded himself for refraining from insulting his best friend's sister. From their friendship, he came to learn that crossing Lily Evans should be avoided at all costs.

His pensive gaze returned to the window for a moment as he considered Lily’s question.

“Well, I suppose what Slytherin house represents has always appealed to me most,” he explained, lacing his fingers on his lap.

“The cornerstone of Slytherin is ambition. Ambition requires perseverance, discipline and logic. Bravery, loyalty, and wit--everyone’s born with these qualities, really. They come and go. But if you can learn to persevere in any situation, then perhaps those other traits won’t be so transitory.”

Lily listened and considered the qualities that Severus had described. She'd a lot to admire in a person like that, too. She liked to think of herself like that, and she could definitely see Severus in that way.

“I think that suits you,” Lily told him. “You’re strong-willed and determined and logical. If that’s what Slytherins are like and you want to be sorted there so badly, I think you’ll get in,” she said truthfully.

“We’ll see,” Severus shrugged with an anxious sigh. He then smirked, “Another reason is that their house ghost is undoubtedly the most wicked,” he added.

Lily quirked an eyebrow, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Unconsciously, she found herself leaning in closer to Severus, like a ghost might creep on her right in this instant. “They have a ghost? And it’s wicked?”

At Lily’s next words, Severus’ smirk widened. He leaned in towards her and stared her straight in the eye.

“Oh, yes. He is called the Bloody Baron,” he began in barely a whisper and paused for dramatic effect. “He’s a tormented lost soul covered in silver blood and thick, heavy chains…”

He was grateful for the unforgiving, grey weather conditions outside the window. It provided a cinematic effect that words would simply fail to portray in this instance.

“...Everyone’s scared of him, you see. Even the other ghosts. Every year after the sorting ceremony the Bloody Baron haunts each first-year in the dead of night. You’ll know he’s coming when you hear those heavy chains dragging slowly across the floor…”

“...And then you’ll wake up and gaze into those blank, soulless eyes right above you...and then…”

At that precise moment a dimpled woman abruptly slid back the door to their compartment with a trolley of pastries and other goods.

“Anything from the trolley, dears?”

Lily was already at the edge of her seat when the trolley woman opened the door. She screamed at the sudden burst of movement at precisely the wrong time. Lily placed her hand over her heart and stared wide-eyed at the woman for a moment until it registered in her mind that this was clearly not the Bloody Baron.

Then, Lily burst out laughing, tears of a different kind rolling down her cheeks. She kicked Severus’ foot playfully. “Oh, you--” she began to say, then the trolley woman cleared her throat.

“Everything...alright, dear?”

“Yes--just--telling ghost stories,” Lily said between giggles. The woman smiled fondly at the two of them.

“Oh, well, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to come across new ones of those at Hogwarts,” she said.

Severus had bent over with laughter upon witnessing Lily’s reaction. He turned to the trolley-woman, still grinning and slightly flushed.

“Your timing is impeccable,” he added.

“Would you like anything, dears?” The trolley-woman asked again.

“Yes, I’ll--” Lily began, but then looked perplexed at all the unfamiliar items. “Okay, Sev, what’s good?” she asked.

Severus then looked from the cart to Lily. “So much to learn--you’re so fortunate to have me with you.” He snickered and surveyed the trolley’s inventory before coming to a decision.

“Er...two treacle tarts, a pumpkin pasty, and two--no, three sugar quills.” he handed the woman a few sickles and collected their goods.

“You’re in for a treat, quite literally,” he snickered, breaking apart the pumpkin pasty and giving Lily half of their stash.

They happily indulged in their confectionary lunch and basked in the glory of the extra hyperactivity until, inevitably, the sugar crash fell upon them. Severus spent his repose thoughtfully scribing in a leather-bound journal while the sky became dark with the setting of the sun.

Severus began to dwell on a thought that had begun to worry him ever since their encounter with those two idiots from earlier--it wasn’t about them, though. It was about Lily. About the future of their friendship.

“Lily,” he said carefully with a slight frown, breaking the relaxing quiet.

“What will happen if we’re not sorted into the same house?”

Lily’s brow furrowed at his question, and she looked up from her copy of Hogwarts, A History.

“Why would anything happen?” she asked, then shrugged, closing the book. “We’ll still have classes together, won’t we? I guess we’d have different dormitories, and that wouldn’t be ideal, but there would have to be other places we could hang out. The grounds, library, the Great Hall…” she reasoned, then shrugged again. “I hope we’re in the same house, but it’ll be fine either way.”

Severus nodded to Lily with a small smile in response. But he wasn’t completely reassured. Lily had been the best friend he ever had---one of the only friends he ever had, really. Before Lily, all he had known was loneliness and abuse. There was no one who meant quite as much to him as her. He trusted her, though, and believed that this concern would soon dissolve once everything fell into place at Hogwarts.

~~*~~

Just as Severus had wished, he was sorted into Slytherin. Unfortunately, though, Lily ended up in his rival house--Gryffindor. He swallowed this reality like a bitter sleeping potion, but reminded himself that nothing would change between them.

Already within the first initial weeks at Hogwarts, the rivalry between Severus and James Potter had markedly intensified. Potter had already formed a close knit command of allies. It also didn’t help that his house as a whole was already smitten with him. Severus couldn’t possibly conceive of why that was. In any respect, he soon realized that if he was to survive the next seven years he would need some strong allies of his own to rally behind him.

Severus indubitably was the most clever of his fellow Slytherin first-years, and found that it wasn’t difficult to befriend them--as long as he threw around the words ’mudblood, dirty blood, and pureblood’ in practically every other sentence. At first, he reassured Lily that his pseudo-friendships with such prejudiced and despicable individuals was purely for political purposes. As time went on, however, the sharing of a common enemy forged the beginnings of true camaraderie between Severus and the Slytherins.

“Potter was born a blood-traitor. Mum and dad have been saying it for ages. His vermin family was outcasted from the Sacred Twenty-Eight a long, long time ago, and now they’re good-for-nothin’ low-lifes. It’s pathetic, really,” Avery spat to the group of five Slytherin first-year boys as they headed across the grounds to the first Quidditch match of the year. Slytherin vs Gryffindor--how poetic.

Severus chortled a bit in response along with the group. He didn’t care much about blood purity--especially considering his own half-blood status, but he did despise James Potter. So he laughed anyway.

“Black is one too,” Mulciber added with his lip curling in disgust. “Who would have thought it possible--the Black name now soiled. I’ve heard the older kids talking, they want his head bashed in for it.”

Severus looked away and rolled his eyes at this comment. The Sirius Black Sorting Scandal had been far too popular a topic in his house. And a redundant one at that. Luckily, however, in that moment he had spotted Lily in the crowd with her friends heading towards the pitch.

“Meet me at the pitch,” he instructed the Slytherins.

Although Lily was immersed in Mary’s detailed explanation of Quidditch, she immediately caught Severus’ eye, as if by instinct. She had quickly made friends with the girls in her dormitory and was relieved to find they really had a lot in common--there was another Muggle-born girl, Ana, and the others from wizarding families like Mary and Dorcas and Marlene didn’t seem to care about blood status at all. Marlene had described it as a “dying belief,” even knowing Lily couldn’t help but get the feeling that for some of the students at this school, it really was not--like for the guys Severus had started hanging out with, for example.

Still, Lily was determined not to judge, because she couldn’t be at all certain that there was anything really wrong with Mulciber and Avery and the rest, or if she was just jealous that Severus was making new friends. Which Lily knew was wrong and irrational, especially since she was making new friends, too; but the truth was, she still liked Severus best.

Which was why when he caught her eye, Lily beamed and waved at him.

Severus returned Lily’s wave with a small, yet profound, smile. He then braved the upstream flow of the Hogwarts student body to meet her in the middle.

“Hi,” he said gingerly.

He had been so caught up with Hogwarts politics and coursework that he and Lily had hardly spent any time together in well over a week.

“Where will you be sitting?” Severus asked with his eyes briefly darting to the Gryffindor females surrounding his best friend. He elected to immediately rephrase his question, considering how outnumbered he was just then.

“Do you want to sit with me?”

Lily didn’t hesitate in saying, “Yes.” In part, because she missed him, and she never anticipated having to miss him when they were still at the same school together--but also because Lily really never concerned herself with what other people thought, so it hadn’t even occurred to her to think it would be weird for a Gryffindor to sit with a Slytherin at a match between their two houses. When Lily wanted to do something, she just did it.

It was a quality of hers that tended to leave the people around her dumbstruck on occasion, like right now, as the majority of her friends gaped at her with the exception of Ana, who--as a fellow Muggle-born--didn’t quite grasp the intensity of the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry yet, either.

“But Lily, Gryffindor is playing!” Mary protested, scandalized.

Lily shrugged. “I don’t really care who wins, I just want to watch the game. Besides, this is my friend from home who I was telling you about, Severus,” she said.

The three of them just sort of blinked, stunned at Lily’s casual dismissal of the laws of Quidditch culture. Ana smiled warmly, though, “Oh, it’s nice to meet you, Severus, Lily does talk about you often,” she said. “All good things!” Ana clarified. “My name’s Ana,” she said.

Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene seemed to remember themselves at Ana’s politeness and introduced themselves each in turn.

Severus surveyed the girls with a bit less enthusiasm than he probably should have.

“Charmed,” he muttered with his tone void of effect.

He led Lily away from her friends and towards the pitch. They were just falling back into their typical friendly banter as they had reached the top one of the aerial viewing boxes--which happened to be split down the middle with Gryffindors and Slytherins. Surely, this should have been illegal--or in the very least heavily monitored, but Professor Slughorn was attempting to encourage healthy competition between the two houses and Professor McGonagall was too engrossed in the match to argue.

Severus and Lily took seats in one of the box’s corners so that were a bit distanced from everyone else. He eyed the clamorous excitement surrounding him wearily.

“How are you enjoying your first Quidditch match so far?” Severus asked Lily with a small smile, leaning in towards her so that she could hear him over the roaring barbarians.

“I’d say this is an excellent portrayal of how easily human beings can become animals,” he scoffed.

Lily was engrossed in the game, trying to remember everything Mary had told her in order to really follow it--yet, even when she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, she still found it thrilling to watch people diving and swooping through the air. Lily gripped the bench tightly every time it looked like someone would surely pelt to their doom, but then they never did.

She laughed at Severus’ remark--it was very rambunctious, but she didn’t mind it. “The crowd definitely has that sort of vibe,” she agreed. “But I think it’s amazing! I keep thinking they're going to crash and die, but they don't! And I love how there's not a separate boys and girls team, that everyone plays together,” Lily said to his earlier question. “Plus, this is a lot more exciting than football!” she yelled over the din.

“If it isn’t my two most promising first year Potions students together, Mr. Snape and Ms. Evans!” Professor Slughorn interrupted, shouting cheerfully over towards them as he came ambling up the steps with a pint of butterbeer from Merlin knew where. “Ms. Evans, we are very honored to have you join us on this fine day! Oh, I shall have such fun making Professor McGonagall jealous!” he said, giving Lily a good-natured pat on the back as he reclaimed his seat a few stands above in the faculty section, between Professor Merriweather and Hagrid.

Lily laughed again once Slughorn was gone. “McGonagall and Slughorn are sort of mismatched when it comes to House stereotypes, don’t you think?”

Severus gaped at the head of his house in disbelief and shook his head somberly after he had turned to leave.

“The juxtaposition is laughable,” he sighed and covered his face with his palm. It’s not that Severus didn’t find Slughorn to be a clever man…he just was a bit too…whimsical for Severus’ taste.

He made the mistake of briefly scanning the vicinity as he observed Professor Slughorn exiting. Severus’ eyes unintentionally met the gaze of none other than Black, who was sitting with Potter and their minions--they were obviously the most raucous group in the box. Black shot him an infuriating smirk and blew him a kiss before realizing who Severus was sitting with. Severus sighed and turned away just as he witnessed Black ram Potter’s ribs, gesturing to Severus and Lily.

“Brilliant..”

“What is it?” Lily asked, once more enraptured with the sport.

“OI!!! EVANS!!!” Lily somehow managed to hear James Potter boom from across the stands. Lily jumped and turned instinctively; it took her a moment to even spot him, but then, sure enough, there was Potter, face painted in Gryffindor colors and standing beside Black with his hands cupped over the sides of his mouth to project his voice.

“GRYFFINDOR IS OVER HERE, EVANS!!” he shouted again.

Lily shot him a glare nearly as loud as his voice. She watched as Marlene whacked James in the back of the head, clearly telling him to leave her alone. That made Lily smile, at least, as she turned away from them.

“Like I don’t know that,” Lily scowled. “He is so annoying,” she told Severus, shaking her head. “Always has something to say.”

“You don’t understand the joy it brings me to hear someone sane say that,” Severus snickered, smiling fondly at Lily.

“Oh, I say it all the time,” Lily said with a little smirk.

As if Potter’s interruption wasn’t bad enough all on its own, the spectacle he created had alerted Severus’ Slytherin cohort to his whereabouts. The four of them abandoned their bench to crowd around Severus and Lily.

“Where the bloody hell have you been?” Rosier demanded.

“Yeah, we saved a seat for you!” Wilkes piped in.

Severus concluded then that attending this match had been a mistake. Between the clamor, interruptions and overwhelming presence of human beings, he would much rather be finishing his essay on the Soap Blizzard of 1378.

“I’ve been right here the whole time,” Severus explained impatiently, raising his brow. “This is Lily Evans,” he pointed to Lily. “Lily, this is Wilkes, Rosier, Avery and Mulciber.”

The four boys were stoic as they eyed Lily. “Evans,” Avery repeated. “Not familiar with that name...Rosier, do you recognize the name Evans?” he asked ominously.

“No. I don’t.”

“Where would you happen to be from, then, Evans,” Avery asked Lily with a cold look.

“She’s from Cokeworth just like me. Spinner’s End,” Severus explained curtly, wishing this introduction would cease already. “You’re blocking the match,” he pointed out.

“Funny, but I thought that’s mainly where muggles live…Is that right, Mulciber?”

“That’s right.”

Lily regarded Rosier, Avrey, Wilkes, and Mulciber with a look that could only be described as utterly unbothered.

“I don’t recognize any of your names either,” she remarked. “And there are lots of Muggles in Cokeworth. Like my parents and sister, for instance,” she told them with no hesitation whatsoever. In fact, Lily’s chin was raised in a prideful manner as she stared down her nose at the boys.

The four boys burst into a chorus of derisive laughter.

“Snape, what the bloody hell are you doing with a mudblood.”

Lily's brow furrowed at the name, clearly perplexed. If possible, what color Severus had in his complexion drained the moment that word was uttered.

“Don’t call her that…” Severus said quietly through gritted teeth.

“What--you mean, mudblood?! But that’s what she is, after all.” Mulciber laughed.

“Clearly she is, look--she doesn’t even know what mudblood means,” Wilkes pointed out, which made them all roar even louder with sadistic laughter.

“Lily, let’s go,” Severus insisted, abruptly standing up with his knuckles gripped tightly.

“What did you call me?” Lily snapped. She genuinely didn’t know what mudblood meant, but it didn’t sound very good. “Why should we leave? Theyshould be the ones to go,” Lily insisted. They didn’t have time to debate it further, as an authoritative voice filled the air.

“Mulciber, Avrey, Wilkes!” Slughorn bellowed as he made his way down the stands again, presumably for another pint. “Ten points each from Slytherin for using such foul language and embarrassing me at our own Quidditch match,” he said sternly. “If I hear you talking like that again, it will be detention. Perhaps we should compare your grades with Ms. Evans’ later to demonstrate that blood truly doesn’t matter, hm?”

“And ten points to Slytherin for Mr. Snape defending his friend,” Slughorn said. “Let them be a lesson to you boys of a more evolved and enlightened way of thinking.”

The four boys mumbled insincere apologies to Professor Slughorn as they walked off, shooting Severus stern looks of doubt mixed with inklings of resentment. Those looks deeply concerned Severus.

Lily turned back to Severus as Slughorn huffed past them all. “What does mudblood mean?” she asked immediately, her cheeks still flushed with anger.

Severus frowned as he looked away from the boys and back to Lily. “...Don’t listen to them, Lily. Honestly, they’re all dunderheads…”

However, he was well aware that these words would do nothing to quell Lily’s inquiry. He knew her too well to assume otherwise.

He sighed deeply. “It...it’s a derogatory term for someone born of Muggle parentage...It’s a very foul thing to say…It means dirty blood.”

Severus kept his gaze fixated on his fingers while he pulled at the strings on his green and silver scarf. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly guilty for ever using the word himself. Not that Lily knew, of course--but still. In truth, he felt no fondness or allegiance to his fellow first-years, but that was mainly because Severus had no allegiance to anyone, really--except for Lily.

“In the wizarding world there are some people who still believe in blood supremacy. They are brought up to look down upon anyone who isn’t born from a pure wizarding family. But, really, there aren’t many families that are purely witches and wizards anymore. Most are like you and me,” he explained in hushed tones so that even if it were possible, no one could overhear him.

“I’m sorry they spoke to you like that…” he frowned, looking up from his scarf straight into Lily’s brilliant green eyes.

“You don’t have to apologize for them,” Lily said automatically, but she was still turning Severus’ revelation around in her mind. It’s not that she didn’t pick up on some of this tension--it had never been as overt as what she’d just experienced and she had never heard that word before, but it was obvious there was something stewing below the surface when it came to people’s lineages. Lily just hadn’t realized the scope of it until now--what Severus described sounded like racism, and it felt...strange to be on the other side of it. Not that Lily’s parents were racists--a far cry from it--but they fit neatly into British muggle society. No one had ever questioned her presence or identity before--she’d never experienced the futile frustration and indignity of having to prove to another that she and her family were just as worthy as everyone else.

“Why did you tell me that it didn’t matter?” Lily asked--her tone wasn’t accusatory, but more curious. “I asked you if being Muggle-born made a difference, and you said no.”

“Because it doesn’t make a difference, not really,” Severus shrugged. “You’re going to be a brilliant witch no matter what. You already are.”

To Be Continued

[littlemissnack]

The Next Generation Part 3 Chapter 1

The story of Albus Potter, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, and the countless adventure’s they get into in there years at Hogwarts.

To start reading from the beginning click here: http://littlemissnack.tumblr.com/tagged/fanfiction

Here is the fanfiction link if you would prefer to read it on there: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9303697/1/The-Next-Generation 

And Liveluvcreate:  http://www.liveluvcreate.com/fanfiction/book/the_next_generation-732.html

And AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/807773 Or if you prefer to read it on here, here you go:

“Lily! Come back here! You’ll get lost! James! Let go of your brother!” Ginny Potter frantically tried to collect her three children ready for their impending train ride. Her husband Harry had gone to collect Lily, who had ran off after a Kneazle she’d seen following their owner, while Ginny forcefully separated her sons who were engaged in a fight with James getting Albus in a headlock. When the whole family had assembled, Ginny took the opportunity to give her instructions before they all ran off again.

“Right listen up you three! James, this is your OWL year, I expect you to really buckle down and focus this year or you won’t get the NEWT classes you want! And please don’t make Professor McGonagall need to call us in again this year! You broke a record last year, more disciplinary visits from parents than any other student in the history of Hogwarts!” Ginny sternly warned James who smirked.

“I know best trouble maker Hogwarts has ever known, even uncle George thinks so!” James boasted.

“That is NOT something to be proud of young man! If we are called in at all this year, then you are not allowed your broom all summer! I mean it James you need to buckle down this year!” Ginny held her son by his face to try to get the warning in. James rolled his eyes and nodded. Ginny decided to take this as an agreement and moved on.

“Al, please watch out for your sister this year, make sure she stays on track and she doesn’t wonder off. I’m counting on you to be the responsible big brother to your little sister!” Ginny reminded him. Albus nodded his agreement he was used to being the responsible big brother.

“And maybe try making some new friends this year? It seems like you don’t hang around with anyone but Rose, I’m worried about you…” Albus glared at his mother.

“Mum I’m fine! I don’t need anyone but Rose! …Besides I have other friends, I’ve told you about Thalia.” Albus insisted still unable to tell his parents he did have other friends, they just happened to be a Malfoy and a Slytherin.

“That’s Rose’s friend, your mum and I are just worried you might be getting a bit lonely at Hogwarts…” Albus was about to interrupt to tell his father he was fine but his father continued before he could. “Just promise you’ll try find some more friends this year?” Albus sighed and rolled his eyes as he nodded. Knowing it was the best they were going to get they moved onto their third child.

“And you Lily Luna, you keep safe okay! I know you’re excited for Hogwarts but please be careful! No wondering off or exploring, you could seriously hurt yourself!” Lily groaned but at her mothers stern look she stayed quiet and nodded.

“Write us as much as you can and just be careful Lils! I need my little girl back to me in one piece this summer!” Harry insisted bending down to Lily’s level.

“Dad! I’ll be fine, I’m not a little girl anymore! I can handle it!” Lily insisted. Harry sighed knowing fully well he didn’t want to let his daughter go to Hogwarts, but there was no stopping Lily Luna Potter when she set her mind to something.

“Okay the trains gunna leave soon so you’d better all get on, come give hugs!” James, Albus and Lily stood in a line while there parents made there way down the line giving a big hug and kiss on the forehead to each of their children. As Albus was waiting for his hug he looked around the train station and noticed his best friend Scorpius waving at him. Only this time Scorpius was alone, his mother and father weren’t with him.

  “What house do you think we’ll be in Hugo?” Lily excitedly turned to Hugo grabbing his wrists. Having already grown bored with the exploding snap they were playing, Lily focused her attention back to Hogwarts.

“Lily we might get put in different houses!” Hugo reminded her.

“Of course we won’t, whatever house we go in we’re going in the same one. It’s been you and me since I was born and it’ll be me and you till one of us dies!” Lily dismissed him confidently. Hugo didn’t look so confident chewing on the sleeve of his maroon jumper. Rose who was sat next to her little brother noticed this and swatted his arm away warningly.

“But what if we are Lily!” Hugo asked casting an apologetic look to his sister.

“Don’t worry Hugo we’ll be together I know it!” Lily stated. Albus was staring out the window already bored with this conversation when the door opening brought his focus back into the train. Standing in the doorway was Scorpius Malfoy who beamed at his two friends but his face turned to confusion when he noticed the bright blue eyed, ginger girl with pigtails and the scared looking brown haired, brown eyed boy who had started chewing his sleeve again. Albus registered Scorpius’ confusion and began the introduction.

“Oh Scorpius! Welcome back mate! This is my little sister Lily, she’s a first year” Albus said nodding his head in Lily’s direction who beamed at Scorpius with excitement and intrigue

“And this is my little brother Hugo… Hugo! Stop chewing your sleeve I’ve told you a million times you’ll get it all wet!” Rose said as she began fussing over Hugo’s sleeve.

“Guys this is our friend Scorpius Malfoy. Lily I swear if you tell mum and dad I’m friends with him I WILL tell them about the bowtruckle you’re keeping up in your room!” Albus warned. Lily’s face turned to shock.

“How did you know about Mimsie?!” Lily demanded. Albus laughed and pointed to her pocket which was squirming.

“I found her when I was looking for my textbooks that you stole!” Lily crossed her arms frustrated.

“And I don’t need to warn you about this do I Hugo? You won’t tell mum and dad on me, will you?” Rose asked sternly. Hugo shyly shook his head. Scorpius chuckled and took a seat next to a pouting Lily.

“I’ve always wanted to see a bowtruckle! I read about them once” Scorpius stated pointing to where Mimsie had poked her head out of Lily’s pocket. Lily beamed and began telling Scorpius everything about him until he regretted asking.

  Half an hour later Thalia had found her way to the group and after promptly being introduced to Lily and Hugo Lily found she loved Thalia even more than she loved Scorpius. This meant that as much as the gang wanted to walk to Thalia about the journal they couldn’t with Hugo and Lily present. It wasn’t until an hour into the journey that Albus finally came up with an excuse to get rid of them.

“Lil, Hugo we’re nearly there maybe you too should go to the changing compartments and get changed, we’ll keep the carriage.” Albus suggested. At first Lily’s eyes dropped to have to leave her new friends but then a thought crossed her heads.

“I get to finally wear my Hogwarts uniform!?” Lily excited reached into her suitcase to find it.

“I don’t think you can say finally when you’ve been wearing it all summer!” Albus rolled his eyes. Rose was helping Hugo find his uniform. Lily almost fell over bounding out of the room excitedly.

“Come straight back here after, Lily!” Albus warned but it was too late both had already left. Albus quickly turned to his friends.

“Guys, Lily’s very quick when she’s excited we have 10 minutes tops but hopefully she’ll wander off a little. Thalia what did you find out from the journal?” Albus quickly asked turning to Thalia.

“Guys, I’m sorry but I couldn’t translate all of it only parts, and the parts I have don’t make much sense. I spent the whole summer in my room trying to read this thing and parts of it I’d never seen before in my life!” Thalia couldn’t meet her friends eyes as she felt them all sighing. Scorpius who was sat next to her put a hand on her shoulder.

“Look it’s alright, we’ll meet up with Sienna tomorrow night and you can tell us everything you did find out and we’ll see what we have from there. Albus, you’ll tell Sienna we’re gunna meet right?” Scorpius tried to positively reassure Thalia. Albus nodded.

“Has anybody …. Heard anything from her since we escaped from her? Anybody have any dreams or visions or sightings anything about her?” Rose checked. One by one the gang shook their heads.

“Me either. It’s weird that she’s this quiet right? Usually one of us is having dreams or visions or something and yet now there nothing?” Rose asked.

“I say we don’t take that for granted! We don’t know when she could strike next so I say we take advantage of not hearing from her and take it as a good sign!” Scorpius insisted trying to be positive but Albus could tell by Rose’s expression she wasn’t convinced.

“Well anyway Albus, you weren’t wrong when you said we’d better be going to get changed we will be arriving soon! Rose and I will go to the girls changing cart and you two can keep the carriage.” Thalia said as she began getting her robes from her suitcase. Soon it was just the two boys in the carriage and Albus decided to take this opportunity to talk to Scorpius alone.

“Scorp? Is everything okay at home?” Albus tentatively asked. Scorpius turned to Albus in confusion.

“Why would you ask that?” Scorpius pondered. Albus shrugged.

“Well I noticed you were alone at the station, and I know you are your parents don’t have a great relationship but they’ve never made you go to the station alone before. Is everything okay at home?” Albus sensitively asked. Scorpius sighed and studied the scenery as it passed by the window.

“Honestly? There is no okay at my house! My parents are former death eaters and I’m their goody goody Gryffindor embarrassment. My Grandparents don’t even know I am a Gryffindor! Okay left my house a long time ago!” Scorpius rolled his eyes. Albus sighed.

“I know things in your house aren’t okay but why didn’t they bring you to the train station? Did something change?” Albus pressed the issue.

“Okay fine you win, something changed over the summer and now things are infinitely worse, I just don’t think I’m ready to talk about it yet. It was pretty bad but I’m okay now I’m away from home.” Scorpius noticed Albus’ concerned face “Look Al, I promise I’m okay now, but if I’m ever not I’ll talk to you about it, I promise!” Scorpius reluctantly agreed.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, I just want to make sure you’re okay, you’re my best friend I want to be there if anything bad happens to you!” Albus put his hand on Scorpius’ shoulder. Scorpius smiled.

“Thanks man, you’re my best friend too and I will tell you eventually. I’m just not ready to talk about it yet. I just want to pretend it’s not happening for now and escape to hogwarts!” Scorpius smiled at Albus who looked like he was trying to find the right words to comfort him but before he could say anything the carriage door flew open.

“Al, I’m so sorry but I lost Lily again! I was keeping an eye on her this time but this kid walked in front of me and she wondered off again!” Hugo frantically tried to explain. Albus sighed as he and Scorpius got up.

“Oh for godsake Lily! I swear everything I say goes in one ear and out the other! Hugo stay here incase Lily comes back, Scorpius and I will go find her. Tell Rose and Thalia were we’ve gone when they get back!” Albus ordered as he and Scorpius left to find his wondering little sister.

 “Lily!? Lily!?” Albus called looking over the heads of hundreds of students as they piled off the school train.

“She must be here somewhere!” Rose frustratingly stated.

“I’ve been in charge of her for 3 hours and she’s already got lost 3 times! For godsake Lily!” Albus grumbled as he continued pushing through students trying to find his sister.

“Look she’s over there!” Thalia pointed standing on her tiptoes to point to where Lily was examining the magical flowers hanging around the train station far away from the other students and paying no attention to where the other students were going. Quickly the five of them made their way against the crowd to Lily. Albus grabbed her by the arm and began pulling her back to the crowd.

“Lily! We’ve been through this! You’d have got lost if we hadn’t found you!” Lily rolled her eyes as Albus rushed her over to the groundskeeper who was waiting by the boats for first years.

“I was fine! I was just looking at the flowers! Ally they have Vitaeflos! There so pretty and they move on their own… Albus let go of me I’m fine!” Lily insisted finally breaking free of Albus’ grip on her arm. Albus held Lily’s shoulders to make her look at him.

“Lily Hogwarts is so easy to get lost in you HAVE to be paying more attention to the real world!” Albus warned her. Lily responded by rolling her eyes at him. “Look you and Hugo need to get on the boats now, I’ll see you at the sorting ceremony, for heaven’s sake stay with the group…. And keep her hidden if the school see Mimsie they will send her home to mum and dad!” Albus warned. Lily stopped listening when she realised it was time for her to finally go to Hogwarts.

“Come on Hu it’s time to go! We’re finally gunna see the castle!” Lily exclaimed grabbing Hugo from Rose who was brushing her brothers jumper off and giving him plenty of rules to remember.

“Lily! Were you listening too…. Lily just stay with the group!” Albus shouted to Lily who was already docking onto her boat with Hugo stepping cautiously on behind her.

“Hugo! Be careful with the boat okay!” Rose shouted her warning. Scorpius came up behind his friends and put his arms around both there shoulders, making Rose go slightly red.

“They’ll both be fine, your not their parents you know! Come on lets get a carriage before there all gone!”

  Albus, Rose, Scorpius and Thalia sat nervously waiting at the feast waiting for Hugo and Lily’s sorting.

“Can you see her? I don’t see Lily anywhere!” Albus panicked standing up slightly to try to find his sister.

“Al, She’s over there behind the blonde girl with pink bow. Stop worrying!” Scorpius sighed.

“What house do you think she’ll be in?” Thalia asked.

“I’ve been asking myself that question since James’ went to Hogwarts and I can honestly say I can’t tell. Lily would do well in any house! She’s always going off on her little adventures and I swear that girls fearless so she’d be a great Gryffindor, But she’s so inquisitive about magical creatures and magical plants and she’s always off in her own world trying to figure out how things work so maybe she could be a Ravenclaw, but god save the person who gets in Lily’s way when she’s set her mind on something and when she wants something she WILL get it, so maybe Slytherin but she’s the most dedicated, loyal girl I know and she works so hard to get what she wants when she wants it so maybe a Hufflepuff. The sorting hat really has its work cut out for it with Lily!” Albus mused.

“Well there’s no way Hugo will be in Gryffindor or Slytherin, He has no determination and he’s not brave enough to be a Gryffindor, he’s scared of everything! He’ll probably either be a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff” Rose decided.

“LILY POTTER” The headmaster announced. The gang fell silent as they watched Lily excitedly run up to the sorting hat. Unlike when Scorpius had worn the hat, it seemed to be taking it’s time with Lily.

“She’s been on there for 7 minutes now, She’s officially a hat stool!” Rose nervously told the rest of them.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat loudly degreed. Albus beamed and clapped louder than anyone in the room. Scorpius couldn’t help but notice the reluctant smile on James’ face.

“See she’ll be fine in Hufflepuff, Lucy can take care of her!” Rose clapped Albus’ shoulder.

“HUGO WEASLEY” The headmaster declared. Rose caught her breath as Hugo took a deep breath and nervously sat down shaking. The hat had barely reached his brown curls when it called out.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” Rose smiled.

“At least there together!” her and Albus smiled at each other.

   The next day Albus, Rose, Scorpius & Thalia met up with Sienna in the library after a long first day of lessons. Sienna arrived first and was already sat chewing bubblegum, that Albus couldn’t help but notice smelled very strongly of peppermint, with her feet on the table by the time the rest of them arrived.

“How was your summer?” Albus asked taking his seat next to her.

“As interesting as summer in a care home gets! What about you? Was I mistaken or were there even more Potters & Weasleys at the feast last night? You lot breed like rabbits!” Sienna joked. Rose smiled as she got out her notebook.

“My little brother and Albus’ little sister, They’re Hufflepuffs.” Rose responded. Sienna leaned forward in her chair taking her feat of the table.

“So I heard, I thought it was like illegal for Potters and Weasleys to be in anything but Gryffindor?” Sienna joked.

“We have cousins in the other houses too, Molly’s a slytherin, Louis’ a Ravenclaw and Victoire, Lucy, Lily and Hugo are Hufflepuffs.” Albus tried to justify.

“But we do have more of us in Gryffindor. Me, Al, James, Fred, Roxanne & Dominique are Gryffindors. But just because there’s more of us in Gryffindor doesn’t mean we HAVE to be in there” Rose argued.

“God your family really does breed like rabbits!” Sienna rolled her eyes as Albus playfully punched her. Sienna kicked him back and it turned into a full-on play war.

“Guys, let’s try to get back to the task in hand alright?” Scorpius awkwardly interrupted. Albus blushed hard and Scorpius could swear Sienna had turned a lighter shade of pink.

“Sorry you’re right, Go ahead Thalia.” Albus smiled at Thalia who looked down nervously at the journal she’d placed on the table.

“Right, well as I told you guys on the train this thing is hard to read. Some of it I could understand and some of it I’d never seen before I translated as much as I could but it wasn’t a whole lot. But what I did find was this…” Thalia said turning the book around to face the gang who peered in slightly closer.

“That word there…” Thalia pointed out a strange symbol “It’s the symbol for Delvine, and that one there means Malfoy, and that one means Potter and that one…”

“Weasley” Rose nervously finished.

“Yep. They keep appearing all throughout the journal. Whatever this journal does contain I think it has something to do with our ancestors.” Thalia concluded looking between everyone’s expression to take in their states on confusion and shock.

“Are you SURE that’s what they mean Thalia? I mean you could just be wrong, whatever this language is in your head it’s not an translatable language…” Rose suggested.

“Yeah and she’s the only one who can translate so if she says that’s what those words mean I’ll believe her. So far she’s our only hope at translating this thing” Sienna defended Thalia who looked shocked for a moment before smiling gently at her.

“What else did you find Thalia?” Scorpius asked.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t even translate a full sentence just random words, but I did find this…” Thalia said taking a piece of paper from the back of the journal. She handed it to Scorpius who slowly handed it around the group. The paper was clearly a black and white photograph of four men in their 30s standing proudly outside a large building. Judging by their clothes you could tell the photo was old. One of the men stood in the centre with a white lab coat and googles, while next to him stood a man with a thick moustache and a beaming smile wearing what looked like a knitted sweat with light trousers and a golf cap. To the right of the two men stood another man, the thinnest of the three who maintained a strict posture and glared at the camera. This man was in a suit with a top hat and was holding onto his suspenders. Behind him stood the final man, a short man with dark hair and a button-down shirt. Out of all the men this one looked the most out of place smiling nervously at the camera.

“Is that…?” Albus tentatively asked.

“I think so…” Thalia replied cautiously.

“That’s you ancestors!” Sienna replied with certainty.

“So this journal IS connected to our ancestors” Rose concluded. Thalia nodded.

“I can’t believe this…” Scorpius stared in amazement at the photo.

“That’s not all… there was one other word I translated that I think might be relevant.” Thalia sighed flipping the journal ahead a few pages. And placing her finger on one of the symbols.

“That word there…. It means … Morana. I don’t know how I would even know that word but I do and I think it’s because whoever Morana is I think she’s important to all this.” Thalia deduced. Everyone looked at each other in astonishment. Even though they hadn’t found much from that journal, they had more to go on now. They had something to work towards.

  That night as Rose’s blinking alarm clock struck midnight she heard a rustling coming for another bed. Rose turned over to see what was happening and to her surprise found Thalia sitting bolt upright in her bed. Thalia turned and her legs hit the floor and she began to walk out of the room. Rose quickly decided to get up and see if she needed anything.

“Thal…. Hey Thal….Thalia? …. Thalia!” Rose called as she bound down the steps after her. Rose quickly caught up to her and stood in front of her. Thalia stopped moving and stood dead still.

“Thalia?” Rose asked suddenly noticing Thalia’s eyes weren’t there normal shade of electric blue but instead were glowing gold. “Thalia!” Rose shook her shoulders to try to snap her out of this. Suddenly Thalia responded in a raspy voice that barely sounded like hers, speaking first in the language Rose had come to know as Thalia’s language and then speaking English.

“The servant of darkness is rising again.

With the help of her servants she will regain.

Ones who search her tomb beware.

For not all can be found there.

The Heroes will discover more than they know

If they do not succeeds their lives they will forego.” Thalia recited. Rose dropped Thalia’s shoulders in shock realising they had just received another terrifying prophecy.

[la-fille-en-aiguilles]

The Beautiful & Damned (6/7)

Female Reader x Young!Remus Lupin | Female Reader x Young!Sirius Black

Chapter 6: Selflessness and Camaraderie, That Know No Bounds

A/N: And we are nearing the end, my loves. The thought kind of saddens me, but I am also beyond happy for the warm reception this story got. Thank you very much, it’s you who kept me writing into the night these past weeks! 

Also, I know that maybe Minnie’s a tad too merciful in this part. Let’s just say she loves them boys as much as we do, ‘kay? :) 

As always, please enjoy!

New to the series? - Accio Chapter 1: The Golden Couple - Accio Chapter 2: No, Definitely - Accio Chapter 3: Misread - Accio Chapter 4: Bravado Falls - Accio Chapter 5: Marauders to the Rescue

Not to brag, but you were always considered quite an accomplished speaker. 

Everyone who knew you - even superficially - were quick to realize: that pretty little face of yours came with a tongue so sharp it cut like a Sectumsempra charm. 

Almost never rude (only if the situation really called for it), usually calm & always very clear, you could be very persuasive, be it with the girls that you shared your dorm room with, or with your professors when they made mistakes, correcting your essays. 

You nearly always managed to talk Sirius Let’s-Throw-A-Bloody-Tantrum Black out of whatever adventure he had decided to go on, for Godric’s Sake, - that should have meant something, right?…

Right?… 

Yet despite your gift of the gab, all the hints and nearly blatant dismissal, this blockhead of a Slytherin Penn Parkinson just didn’t seem to get the message. 

“Hey Y/N,” he came all the way to where you were sitting at the Gryffindor Table - and judging from his expression, for that strenuous effort on his part alone, you should have jumped his bones. “Lookin’ good, poppet, as usual”. 

The chatter and the laughter, echoing across the Great Hall, watered down significantly as Parkinson pushed his way onto the seat just across from you, nearly knocking your interlocutor, Xenophilius Lovegood, on the floor. 

“Get the fuck out of my way, you freak!” Parkinson barked, before turning back to you with a self-adoring smirk.  

Narrowing your eyes at the Slytherin, you exhaled slowly, trying to keep your composure with every bit of self-control that was left in you. After the emotional rollercoaster that Remus Lupin had put you through last week, your patience were wearing real thin. The amount of anger and bitterness you were able to take on up to this very moment was truly sensational in its proportions; it would have sufficed a minor failure in one of your classes for your self-composure to burst at the seams. 

Luckily, Penn Parkinson and his gigantic ego happened first. 

You didn’t want anyone to get wrong ideas - some of the most brilliant and sharp-witted wizards whose company you truly enjoyed were proud Slytherins. It’s the odd specimen like Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy, to name a few, that were responsible for the not-so-likeable reputation of the house. None of the dignities common to human behaviour seemed to cross the skies of those four, clouded thick with judgmental exclamations and selfishness, that in truth, you knew, were the manifestations of the inferiority complex. 

Remus is nothing like that. The thought electrocuted your brain like a bolt of lightening, coming out of nowhere. 

Focus, you scolded yourself, staring at Parkinson, unblinking. 

“I strongly suggest that you apologize, Penn,” your voice came out smooth and levelled, and you mentally patted yourself on the back. “And then feel free to get the hell out of my sight”. 

Woahs and Ohs resonated in the air all around you, as the three of you instantly became the center of everyone’s attention. Staring daggers at Parkinson, from the corner of your eye you saw Lovegood give the people around you an awkward smile, as if apologising for the commotion that he thought he caused. That look on his face, the fact that he thought that he was the one that had to apologise, made you see red. 

“Oh come on, poppet, don’t be such a prude, that’s a major turn-off”, the second the words left Parkinson’s lips, you knew where you were going to spend the rest of your evenings - scratching those nasty cauldrons in Slughorn’s class clean during eternal detention - yet nothing could stop you now. “‘sides, you better learn how to choose friends properly - first that gutless Lupin, now this loony Lovegood…”

Parkinson didn’t know what hit him. The thump with which his body landed on the ground was ear-splitting, the echo of the Petrificus Totalus curse whispering to the walls of the Great Hall until it was interrupted by a reverberating exclamation. 

“Bloody hell, that was hot!…” 

Standing over the table and Parkinson’s stupefied form behind it, you instantly reacted to the Potter’s outburst, turning your head. The pang of pain pierced your heart so deep you almost sat back down. 

Peter, James and Sirius were staring at you with their eyes alight; but the way Remus looked at you, standing in between long tables, several feet away!… The way every woman wanted to be looked at by a man. Admiration, awe and you could swear on it, deep affection coloured his eyes vivid greenish-brown, soft yet burning, it almost hurt to watch. 

Remus had always been a huge mystery to you, that you would kill to spend your life unraveling. He always looked sleepy, soft and innocent, but Merlin knows more than half of the legendary Marauder pranks were based on his ideas. He had always been the shy non-talkative one in the crowd of people, but whenever he told a joke or shot a witty comment at them, the entire room burst out laughing. Too self-conscious, Remus refused to acknowledge just how many girls and boys were secretly pining for him and his melancholic kind of vibe, his smile that held a sort of surprise in it, like a warm day in the middle of December. 

From the moment you first laid your eyes on him you wanted nothing more than to become his friend. When he first shared his chocolate with you during one of your study sessions, Sirius couldn’t hear the end of it till the day Remus allowed you to steal food from his plate. You honestly thought Sirius would kill you for your constant blabber, or rat you out to Moony at the very least, but he never did such a thing. 

Then at the end of last year, Padfoot told you that young Lupin might fancy you. You laughed out loud in his face, thinking he was doing the best friend’s job of trying to comfort you in the time of need. Over the days, he insisted, again and again that Remus carried a torch for you, and that “the signs were obvious”. You begged him not to probe, because Sirius was just about as subtle as a mandrake root pulled out of its pot in a library, and as amused as he’d been, he agreed. 

Then you both went to that Ravenclaw party when he whispered the fateful words in your ear: “I told you so”. From that moment on, you couldn’t think of anything but of that young Gryffindor student that carried his scars like flowers, blooming in the sun. 

When you finally worked up the courage to tell him about your feelings, as expected, it turned out a colossal disaster. Everything that could go wrong, went nuclear, and not wanting to reject you in front of everybody, Remus fled, and nipped in the bud every attempt of yours to talk to him afterwards. 

You were confused, angry and disappointed, not only because Sirius turned out to be wrong all along, but also because Remus thought you’d be too of a wimp to take his rejection like a strong, powerful witch that you were. 

And now he just stood there, thunderstruck, looking at you like you were his religion. What the hell was wrong with him?!… The wave of anger rose in your chest again. 

“This is for “the loony Lovegood”, you, revolting parody of a wizard!” you spit in Parkinson’s face, finding an outlet for your exasperation. “This - Locomotor Mortis! - is for the “gutless Lupin”, you bitch”, you watched with a chuckle as Slytherin’s legs locked together, “And this! - Levicorpus! - is for the “poppet”, imbecile!”

“That’s my girl”, you heard Sirius snicker, before the sound of it drowned in the row of applause, cheering and whooping. 

You’d only got a second to admire your handiwork - Parkinson’s numb body hang head-down high above the ground - before the Marauders nearly jumped you, their grins encircling you. 

Peter chirped compliments like a little bird, Sirius and James, with their heads thrown back, laughed rowdily, with pretty wrinkles in the corners of their eyes…

Everything around you disappeared the moment Remus’ captivating eyes caught yours.

“Merlin’s beard, Y/N, you are… out of this world,” he spoke softly, his face inches away, chocolate on his breath making your mouth water.

It took you a minute to deal with your hormones, as you gazed at him blankly, your face unreadable. With the ability to speak, came the desire to shout, adrenaline still coursing through your veins. 

“Oh, so now you want to talk to me?!” you flared up, anger eating at you like fire at a piece of parchment paper. “Enough people for you here, Moony?”

“Y/N…” Remus face fell, his big beautiful eyes full of repentance. “Please, let me explain…”

“I don’t need your explanations,” your voice was dripping with almost tangible hurt. “I’m not an idiot, you know, I actually have a brain!” Remus made you lose control, and while you could deal with the outbursts of hurt, affection or lust in the past, you’d seemed to have reached your limit. “You could have told me! You could have just told me you didn’t like me in that way, it would have been okay. I respect your feelings, Remus, you shouldn’t have to love me back! We could have….”

The rest of your thoughts died on Moony’s mouth as it captured yours. Your body reacted to him instantly and naturally: you found the bitterness of coffee dozing on his lips, as if they’d never been away. Your entire body seemed to reconnect to every inch of his, your fingertips relishing every long, lean line of his back, the broad expanse of his shoulders… In his arms, you were home.  

“I know we have a lot to discuss,” he murmured against your lips, his silk eyelashes caressing your skin. “I want you to know that I loved you since I met you, and…”

You didn’t let him finish, resuming the kiss - you already knew what he had to say, because you felt the exact same way. At this point, words were superfluous. 

What you didn’t know however, was that Remus had finally realised what made you so special. What made people want to be around you, talk to you, hear your laugh.  It was, indeed, your dazzling beauty. Beauty, that came from within. 

“…Is that…. Is that Mr. Parkinson?!” the crowd of students who hated the Slytherin and his idiotic gang started to quickly thin out the moment they spotted Professor McGonagall making her way to the place of public hanging. She now stood side by side with James and Sirius, their eyes still glued to Penn. 

“Why yes, professor,” Prongs agreed proudly. “In the flesh. Or should I say in the air?…”

Potter and Black exchanged glances, grinning wide. Unfazed by their antics, McGonagall raised both of her hands and slapped them both lightly on the back of their heads.

“I am very disappointed in you, Mr. Potter!” she announced, producing the wand from her robes and slowly bringing Parkinson’s numb body to the ground. Sirius opened his mouth in order to ask why the hell wasn’t she disappointed in him, when she cut him a stern look from the corner of her eye. 

“Don’t even get me started on you, Mr. Black. I suggest you move your possessions to Professor Slughorn’s bureau, with your troublemaking habits you might as well start living there!” Sirius bit his bottom lip hard and turned away. 

“Professor McGonnagal!” upon hearing Minerva’s voice, you untangled yourself from Remus (with great effort!), and hurried to where she stood, Remus hot in your tracks. “They didn’t curse Penn, Ma’am… I tried to get him to apologize… It was…”

“Me, Professor,” with his chest puffed out, Remus stepped in front of you readily, facing Minerva. You couldn’t help but gasp at his boldness, grabbing his arm instinctively in an attempt to pull him back. 

“Rubbish!…” you exclaimed, trying to attract McGonnagal’s attention, and for a brief moment you did. She lowered her stare, studying you scrupulously. Just when you were about to elaborate, James bloody Potter had to intervene: 

“Oh come on, Remus, Y/N’s right. Quit showing off,” you half expected him to stick his tongue out at Lupin, but luckily, he must have had a change of heart under Minerva’s piercing stare. “I was the one who Petrificus Total’ed the Slytherin baboon, Professor. The evidence is there!” he shook frantically the wand he produced from his robes. When James Potter set his mind on something, it was a losing game to try and fight him on whatever it was. “Had you heard the way he talked to Y/N and Xenophilius, you would have done much worse! I had to simply content myself with a difficult numbing spell...” In order to appear more convincing, Prongs took on a serious expression and motioned towards the unmoving body. 

“Now, don’t get too excited, Potter,” Sirius huffed. “It was yours truly who locked the legs together… And that my friend, was a far more sophisticated charm!…”

From the scandalised expression on Minerva’s face, you realized you weren’t going to be the only one to be expelled or to spend the rest of your life in detention, and however paradoxical that might have sounded, the thought made you want to smile. Pursuing your lips in order to suppress a laugh, from that moment on, you decided to lay back, relax and watch the show. 

“That is exactly what happened, professor,” Moony nodded, biting his bottom lip, and taking an air of a man who didn’t regret a thing he did and was ready to pay the price for his actions. “And after Sirius finished with him, I Levicorpse’d him for a good measure… But that shouldn’t come as a surprise of course… Since it was my idea to hang the Ravenclaw prefect from the Astronomy Tower”. 

The confession produced such a spectacular effect that James, Sirius, Peter and you gasped collectively this time, both impressed and shocked at Moony’s audacity in the face of the only professor you ever truly respected and, truth be told, feared. 

“I was the one who…” James wanted to soften the blow (or to add to it, with him you never knew), when McGonagall raised one of her hands, effectively shutting him up. 

“Please spare me the details of your heroisms, Mr. Potter. The same goes for the four of you,” she eyed each and every one of you with a very admonishing look. When her gaze rested on you, she continued: 

“Sixty points will be taken from Gryffindor for the dangerous barbarity one of you has committed!” she paused, waving her wand and thus sending the Parkinson’s body to Madame Pomfrey, you presumed. “Whoever it is, he, or she,” she gave you a pointed look, “should consider themselves extremely lucky, for I could have sent them packing. I will be writing to all of your parents tonight!” you bit your lip so hard it hurt, and instantly felt a warm, calloused hand squeeze your own. 

Without even looking to your right, you knew it was Remus. 

“Also, five points will be awarded to Gryffindor,” when all four of you raised your eyes in surprise, you could swear you saw a mischievous glint in Professor’s stare. “For the selflessness and camaraderie, that know no bounds. The four of you will fulfil seven consecutive weeks of evening detentions, which will surely only reinforce the bond you share.” 

And just like that, with the rustle of her robes, McGonnagal walked off, with a barely-there smile on her thin, righteous mouth, that she thought no one would notice. 

But you did, watching her with a bright smile of your own, relishing the warmth’s of Moony’s hand.

Last chapter’s coming soon!

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